A series of health issues forced Arlene Moaney, 60, of Cambridge, to retire early. She had to depend on her adult children to survive.
“It was depressing. I felt useless, because I couldn’t do anything to help anybody. I was barely helping myself,” Moaney said. She went into debt and filed for bankruptcy.
But thanks to the Senior Community Services Employment Program (SCSEP) at MAC, she is back at work, and back to being self-sufficient.
MAC, Inc., the Area Agency on Aging was recently awarded a $244,204 grant from Senior Service America, Inc. (SSAI) to assist in this workforce training for low-income older adults living on the Lower Shore. SCSEP works to connect the particular skills and interests of seniors with employment needs and opportunities at nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the Lower Shore.
The program helps participants to build self-esteem and self-sufficiency. It also helps older workers live independently by supplementing their income, according to Fran Giddins, MAC’s SCSEP project director.
Program participants also get on-the-job-training to enhance their skills, and stay more connected and engaged in their community.
The organizations who host SCSEP workers can “put a lifetime of experience to work” for them by hiring an older worker,” Giddins said. And “it lets (the seniors) know they are not ‘done,’ that they still have a lot to give.”
Moaney is happy to be back at work and helping others, and she loves her job, working with senior citizens in Cambridge. “I have my independence back!” she said. “This program has given me a new start in life.”
For more information about the jobs program, call MAC at 410-742-0505, ext.121.
