During a community meeting Thursday night, elderly and disabled attendants learned about a care system that would allow them to continue living as close to independently as possible. 

Lincoln County District 1 Supervisor Jerry Wilson and Brookhaven Ward 3 Alderwoman Mary Wilson at Living Word Faith Ministry Church hosted the event with assistance from NAACP President Bernetta Character. The meeting consisted of a presentation by home- and community-based waiver services organization, Faith and Hope Independent Living, LLC.

Faith and Hope provides alternative, long-term care services to the elderly and disabled who are looking for something other than nursing home care. The organization does this by connecting those who need assistance with certified individuals who provide 24-hour personal care and assistance.

Some of the key services they offer include assistance with bathing, walking, eating, dressing, grooming, shopping, personal hygiene, medical transportation and medication reminders as well as day and night companion services. Faith and Hope also provide services for veterans and spouses of veterans.

Those eligible for the services can chose to have someone they know as their personal care assistant or Faith and Hope will provide a PCA certified nursing assistant. For those who want a family member, friend or someone they already know who aren’t PCA certified, Faith and Hope provides services to help that person become certified.

Faith and Hope’s services can be paid for via three different methods: Medicaid, long-term healthcare insurance and private pay. Services paid for through Medicaid and long-term healthcare insurance come at no cost to the client.

“We just wanted to bring a blessing to our county and city,” Jerry Wilson said. “These services are out there to have and it’s up to you to receive them.”

Wilson said he and Mary Wilson learned about Faith and Hope at a conference in Biloxi. Since they’ve always wanted to bring information about alternative, long-term care solutions back to the area, the Wilsons acted upon the connection they built with the company and invited them to speak.

Faith and Hope is co-owned by husband and wife team, Neal and Kimberly Angrum. Both Neal and Kimberly have degrees and long-term work experience in social work. Neal has a brother with a disability and didn’t like the care he was receiving, so he and his colleague, Darren Matthews, decided to start an agency to provide alternative care. Matthews serves as the program director for Louisiana.

The organization started in Louisiana and is branching out into Mississippi. Currently Faith and Hope has offices in Jackson, Macon and Meridian from which they provide services in all areas of the state. Kulmoris Joiner serves as the program director for Mississippi, working from his office in Jackson.

For more information about how the program works, Faith and Hope can be contacted via phone at 601-807-5496, email at faithandhopejxn@live.com or their website at www.faithandhopeindependentliving.com.

Jerry Wilson said that he and Mary Wilson will be inviting a representative from Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District on June 11 to speak on Medicare and Medicaid issues.