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Sherman Social Services wins Auracast grant to expand hearing access at Town Hall
Summary
Sherman Social Services received a national grant to install an Auracast hearing-assistance system in Town Hall, one of 700 agencies chosen from 5,000 applicants; staff also reported outreach and counseling efforts for seniors and concerns about at-risk residents and housing scarcity.
Sherman Social Services announced at the June 15 meeting that it received a national grant to purchase and install an Auracast system in the Town Hall main meeting room to support attendees with cochlear implants or Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids. Lynne Gomez said Sherman was one of 700 agencies selected from 5,000 applicants nationwide to receive the award and that the system will enable enhanced hearing assistance for people over 50 in this rural community.
Gomez, a C.H.O.I.C.E.S. counselor, also described recent Medicare counseling sessions and said the department plans to offer evening sessions to boost attendance. She reported ongoing efforts to assist seniors living alone who have become unsafe in their homes, noting there is no senior housing in Sherman and that HUD subsidies are scarce and tied to long wait lists. Gomez estimated there are about 300 single seniors in town and that roughly one in five are probably at risk, but she said regulations prevent Social Services from maintaining a list of at-risk individuals without their invitation to participate.
