Welcome to the official launch of Landing Well. Developing this website over the past year has been a labor of love and spiritual discernment for Westcliffe Community United Methodist Church (CUMC). Here is a bit of the backstory that led to this ministry of service and community outreach.
When our fellow parishioner Mary began falling, her neighbors were concerned. When ambulance visits became as routine as taxi rides and with her immediate family out of state, it was apparent that our friend needed help to maintain her well-being in her own home.
Neighbors and church members stepped up to provide meals, check meds, and manage trips to the doctor. Still the struggle – how to help her retain her dignity while transitioning from the independent lifestyle she has always known? How can a family living 600 miles away find resources for a parent in a remote mountain setting like Westcliffe? While there are printed resource guides and support organizations available, it can be daunting to identify which providers actually serve our community and how.
A marked proportion of Custer County residents are over 65 and many of them live alone. Most have family members who live far away so it is often church members, neighbors, and friends, who first notice when additional help is needed. Many people over 50 can easily see themselves in this scenario as either caregiver or needing care in the future.
When the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church offered grant funding for outreach ministries, Community United Methodist Church in Westcliffe saw an opportunity to streamline this search for assistance. By vetting providers, and developing an online resource guide for ready access by friends and family outside of the Valley, we hope to help our neighbors age more safely and comfortably at home. In this online format, the guide may be regularly updated to reflect the caregiving landscape here. Print versions may be readily downloaded from the site and copied for distribution.
Landing Well offers summaries and contact information for providers of common services needed to maintain a healthy and safe lifestyle as we age, i.e. housing, food, health care, transportation, social opportunities, home maintenance, legal and financial concerns. The resources here are curated by committed volunteers to ensure ongoing accuracy and reliability.
We hope local events, voices, and articles highlighted at this site will be a springboard for deeper conversations about the needs of our community, and offer learning opportunities to encourage individuals to plan for healthy and safe living in their final chapter.
The project has benefitted from private donations through CUMC, including a generous gift in loving memory of Dan and Dottie Hudson. The emerging Custer County Consortium on Aging (CCCA), has become a valuable advisory group for this project. CCCA informally gathers representatives from community organizations with a shared commitment to aging residents and their caregivers. Together, they seek to build awareness of existing resources and make recommendations for creative solutions to help citizens age in place with dignity.
If you’d like to be a part of our efforts, please consider:
- Sharing your caregiving stories and experiences with service providers.
- Pointing us to grant funding for rural communities that might support this ongoing effort.
- Registering for our quarterly newsletter.
Together, we can empower folks facing life transitions and their caregivers with resources and promote conversations that will offer a greater sense of control to navigate toward the future with confidence.
