Silver Horizons is committed to helping struggling seniors from Santa Fe to Belen. Seniors 50+ and the grandchildren many of these seniors are raising.
Our goal at Silver Horizons is to do more than help “keep the lights on” or help a struggling senior “survive”. We work to help seniors feel safe and secure…and remain in their own homes. We hope to improve quality of life. That’s why we now assist with vet bills (so a senior doesn’t have to euthanize a buddy just because they can’t afford a vet bill), and we help pay for past-due internet service (to keep an isolated senior connected to the outside world). The photo on this page at the far right captures this spirit of seniors doing more than surviving. We hope the image portrays a happy (maybe even playful) senior who looks forward to each day, and who truly enjoys life despite having limited financial resources.
Our Mission:
Our mission is to see low-income seniors living safe and secure, in their own homes, with enough food to eat.
The Seniors We Help —
Struggling with life’s basics, struggling in silence, and too often, struggling while raising grandchildren:
Most of the seniors we assist live on less than $900 per month. Our mission is to see low income seniors living safe and secure, in their own homes, with enough food to eat. We have spent the last several years positioning Silver Horizons to better meet increasing needs for food. We also offer household bill assistance and help with minor home repairs.
Eating right, and having enough food to eat is a problem for many seniors and their grandchildren in Albuquerque. New Mexico is first in the nation for childhood hunger, and one of the worst states in the nation for senior hunger and for senior malnutrition.
According to a recent Roadrunner Food Bank report, more than 46% of seniors report having to choose between paying for food and utilities, and 61% report choosing between food and medical care. Many of these same seniors on fixed incomes are also raising their grandchildren. Now you have two generations of vulnerable people facing hunger together.
Today, with the help of volunteers, we are expanding our services and delivering to many more needy seniors and grandchildren in Central New Mexico.
2017 was the ABSOLUTE BEST year in Silver Horizons’ 37-year history (38 years, if you count 1979 when we were The Senior Health Foundation):
• Silver Horizons served more seniors in one year (2017) than the total number of seniors we served in all the years, 1980-2016!
A further example of our growth: Three years ago, we had one food pantry serving about 70 people. Today, we have over 20 monthly Senior Food Markets serving almost 3,500 seniors and nearly 1,200 grandchildren.
Among populations who qualify for SNAP (food stamps), seniors are the least likely to apply. In fact 3 out of 5 seniors who qualify do not apply for food stamp benefits. Many seniors face barriers related to mobility, technology and stigma. For those who do receive SNAP, the average benefit is about $108 per month.
Silver Horizons takes food to where seniors live, or at least to areas where the seniors are able to access services. Our community is stronger and healthier when seniors and their grandchildren have enough food to eat. It is difficult to succeed in school, or life in general, when people are hungry, or having to make choices between basic life expenses, school supplies, medications, and food. Typically, other expenses win when competing with food.
Our organization exists because of volunteer and donor support from the community.
To learn more, or to get involved, connect with at:
Facebook: @SilverHorizonsNewMexico
505-884-3881
ron@silverhelpingseniors.org
P.O. Box 6879 Albuquerque, NM 87197
