Tina Reali, controller at Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, Joseph Rossi, CEO and Phyllis Seidler, front office team, pack wellness kits for Mahoning County senior levy participants.

YOUNGSTOWN — Seniors who are case-managed participants in the Mahoning County Senior Levy Program will receive a free wellness kit in the coming weeks.

Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, which administers the levy program, has forged partnerships with local companies to provide bags filled with items to assist local seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project began with funding received through the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. With this funding, Direction Home purchased 1,000 masks from Rondenelli Corp., based in Youngstown.

During the pandemic, the Rondenelli Corp. kept staff employed at its Alterations Express locations by making masks. Direction Home then contacted Candella’s Micro Distillery in Youngstown to purchase 1,000 bottles of hand sanitizer with funds from the Mahoning County senior levy.

Direction Home staff then packed each bag with the mask, sanitizer and information on additional programs available to seniors in Mahoning County. Each bag also includes information from the CDC on how to wear a mask properly, how to wash the masks and how to keep safe during COVID-19.

“We were able to utilize funds to not only help local businesses, but also our vulnerable seniors in Mahoning County. The way the community has come together has been astounding,” said Cassandra Valentini, Direction Home’s community liaison.

Case managers will personally deliver each bag to the senior’s porch, she said. “Case managers have been keeping in contact with consumers via phone during the stay-at-home order, and this will provide an opportunity for seniors to see a friendly face and wave from outside the home.”

The Mahoning County Senior Levy Program provides case-managed supportive services to those 60 and older in Mahoning County who are up-to-date on their property taxes, do not qualify for any other assistance program and meet functional impairment criteria.

The levy was approved by voters in 2016, and officials said the program assisted 16,000 Mahoning County residents in 2019. About 1,000 seniors are provided case-management services to allow them to remain in their homes. Services include personal care, home-delivered meals, emergency response buttons, adult day services and chore services.

Direction Home of Eastern Ohio is the former Area Agency on Aging 11.

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