Mayor delivers Meals on Wheels & gets some feedback

John Howell
Posted 3/26/15

Mary Willis, who has lived at Hardig Brook Village for the past 12 years, knew who was going to be delivering Meals on Wheels Tuesday, and she was prepared for her visitor.

Willis was one of two …

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Mayor delivers Meals on Wheels & gets some feedback

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Mary Willis, who has lived at Hardig Brook Village for the past 12 years, knew who was going to be delivering Meals on Wheels Tuesday, and she was prepared for her visitor.

Willis was one of two people who had their meal delivered by Mayor Scott Avedisian. In the course of this month, Avedisian is one of several elected officials, including the governor, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, to deliver meals to recognize the Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island 2015 March for Meals Campaign.

TV news crews followed Avedisian as he delivered the first of the meals to Betty Marshall, who is also a Hardig Brook resident. He lingered outside her door wondering aloud if this was the woman who was his fourth grade teacher. Such a coincidence seemed too extraordinary even in Rhode Island, where everybody knows everybody.

Heather Amaral, executive director of the agency that served more than 330,000 meals to homebound elderly in 2014, looked through her paperwork for details on Betty.

“Don’t worry,” said the mayor, “if it’s her I’ll know her.”

A white-haired lady opened the door and smiled. Avedisian greeted her. It wasn’t his elementary school teacher. The ensemble was welcomed into Betty’s apartment. Avedisian asked a few questions. Betty said she moved into the apartments last October. She likes the place and she appreciates what Meals on Wheels does and especially the cold plate with the chicken salad.

Avedisian was on to his next stop.

“Thank you very much, and God bless you,” Betty said.

When Mary opened her door Harry was the first to greet Avedisian. That’s Governor Harry. After the obligatory bark announcing the arrival of visitors, Harry’s fluffy white body virtually shook with excitement. The mayor was delighted with the reception. Harry was the instant topic of conversation. They talked about the importance of pets, and Mary spoke of Harry’s wonderful companionship. She said she participates in the Food for Paws started by Kent Hospital that has Meals on Wheels delivering food for the pets of their clients.

Meals on Wheels delivered 29,991 meals to 210 unique individuals in 2014 using a mix of volunteers and paid drivers. Three volunteer routes make pickups from the Pilgrim Senior Center and another two volunteer routes plus two paid drivers use Shalom Apartments as a center, Amaral explained.

Amaral is especially pleased with Governor Raimondo’s budget as it would increase state funding of the program to $530,000, or the level of funding for 2002. The agency is budgeted to receive $200,000 in the current budget.

“We did a happy dance,” she said.

While Mary appreciated the mayor’s attention and Meals on Wheels, she wasn’t going to let an opportunity to talk with Avedisian slip by. She pulled out a letter and, at the mayor’s prompting, talked about her concerns. She would like to see the return of the dinner program at the Pilgrim Center.

“I’m basically homebound and I always enjoyed going out,” she said.

The mayor explained how food is no longer prepared at Pilgrim. Rather, under an arrangement, it is prepared at the Cranston Senior Center. He suggested she visit the center during the day and that opened the issue of transportation, which was also on Mary’s list. He offered her some suggestions and said he would follow up with a letter.

That wasn’t the end of Mary’s list. She also wanted to be sure the city wouldn’t cut any funding for Hillsgrove House that is run by the Kent Center or that there would be cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. The mayor said he couldn’t make any guarantees for the federal programs but he would look out for Hillsgrove House.

Once the mayor left and the apartment cleared, Mary said she isn’t alone in seeking improved transportation and the return of Pilgrim Center dinners. She said there was a time she never would have dared speak up, but now she finds she is doing it for many in the complex.

Mary got to deliver his message and the mayor delivered his along with meals.

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