CNA 2022-25 vFINAL 09202022 MASTER COPY - Flipbook - Page 42
Adults (ages 25-64): Many parents found themselves overwhelmed by managing school-age children at
home all day, lack of child care, isolation from extended family and friends, and remote work - or job loss.
Some slipped into drug and/or alcohol dependence, with lifelong consequences. For some families,
damage to familial relationships will require extended healing.
During the past two years of the pandemic, what has changed for adults in Pro Action's service area?
▪ Everything.
More has changed than not
changed... loss of connection with loved ones,
dealing with loss/death, increased fear and
anxiety while filled with uncertainty and
confusion daily (i.e., COVID, vaccines,
understanding mandates, loss of employment,
change in employment, lack of child care,
reduced income, increased illness, long-term
impacts of COVID), reduced access to basic
needs, food insecurities and less healthy
options.
▪ Higher incidences of neglect/abuse and
incarceration, stress levels, substance
use/abuse, anxiety, depression, self-harm,
violence towards others, increased addiction on
all levels.
▪ Loss
of income and housing.
▪ From what I have seen and witnessed, this age
group have almost stopped contributing to
society (not wanting to work) and causing a rift
in the workforce.
▪ Adults in this age group have experienced
changes in parenting their children, finding jobs
that they qualify or have experience in, and
figuring out how to support themselves and/or
their families.
▪ Many
families are just starting out on the lower
end of this age range and don't always have the
knowledge or funds to make it a successful
start-- they missed out on 2 years of proper job
searching or schooling because of COVID.
Seniors (age 65+): Prior to the pandemic, there was a high rate of social isolation among seniors. This only
deepened. Perhaps the ultimate isolation was the inability of so many to have loved ones by their side as
they passed on.
During the past two years of the pandemic, what has changed for seniors (65+) in Pro Action's service area?
▪ Many
are not coming out of their homes - even
after the drop in COVID cases. They are afraid
to go back to what they used to do.
▪ Isolation. Loss of loved ones. Fear of being
out in public. Food scarcity.
▪ Due to isolation and lack of human contact and
touch, this pandemic has caused some
customers to become depressed or anxious.
▪ More trauma around anxiety and fear of the
COVID disease.
▪ Access
to services was greatly reduced due to
pandemic-related restrictions. Social isolation
increased. Income was the only thing that did
not affect most seniors as their SSA, and
retirement benefits did not change drastically
like someone who lost their job.
▪ I really hope that if a pandemic comes again,
that residents in nursing homes or hospitals are
allowed to receive visitors. And, if at the end of
life and dying, they would be permitted to have
a family nearby to comfort them.
In every age group, these years of illness, isolation, uncertainty, and workforce upheavals have changed
life trajectories, often for the worse, especially for those who had the fewest resources to begin with.
These repercussions will be long-lasting. The community in general, and particularly social services, must
continue to respond creatively to support healing for clients and employees alike. This raises issues of
capacity in the social service sector that we will discuss toward the end of the assessment.
Pro Action of Steuben and Yates, Inc. Community Needs Assessment 2022 – 2025
Page 42 of 162
