FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2022
CONTACT: Diane Wolfe, CFRE, 817-921-0499, x 105; dwolfe@guardianshipservices.org
FORT WORTH, Texas – Guardianship Services, Inc. (GSI) has received a $152,816 AmeriCorps Seniors demonstration grant to recruit and train 20 senior volunteers to help fight fraud and financial exploitation of older Tarrant County residents over the next two years.
The grant will allow GSI to expand programs that prevent fraud and financial exploitation of aging adults in Tarrant County by deploying AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers age 55 and older as peer fraud prevention and financial literacy coaches in high-need neighborhoods. Total project budget, including local matching funds, is $169,837.
“With this new funding, GSI will mobilize the skills and experience of seniors in Tarrant County to protect their neighbors from the crime of the 21st century: fraud,” GSI Executive Director Lyn Scott, MBA, TxCG, said in announcing the grant.
Outreach to neighborhoods will be made by AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers recruited from these communities, building trust. Their mission: combat the epidemic of fraud and financial exploitation of aging adults and safeguard older residents' ability to age in place wherever possible. Volunteers will work with a proven curriculum as part of an established network of legal and social service partners helping GSI fight fraud and exploitation of vulnerable seniors.
Contact GSI at volunteer@guardianshipservices.org to receive information on this and other volunteer opportunities.
The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which included an historic $1 billion investment in AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers stay healthy and active through service, improving their own lives as they improve the lives of others. A growing body of research affirms the mental and physical health benefits of volunteering, including lower mortality rates, decreased rates of depression, and increased strength and energy. Findings from a recent agency-sponsored study show that AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers report feeling less depressed and isolated, along with stable or improved health scores.
Today, AmeriCorps Seniors engages nearly 200,000 older Americans in service at approximately 30,000 locations across the United States and territories.
About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteerism and national service, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 250,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or onetime volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.
About Guardianship Services, Inc.
Guardianship Services, Inc. has provided guardianship, supports and services for vulnerable adults in Tarrant County since 1985. No single solution meets the needs of all vulnerable adults, and the growth of GSI’s Money Management services since 2000 reflects a trend toward less restrictive alternatives that provide needed protection but preserve the greatest independence possible. In 2016, GSI added the Financial Exploitation Prevention Center (FEPC), a groundbreaking program designed to prevent and help prosecute fraud and financial exploitation of aging and other vulnerable adults in collaboration with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's office and allied agencies.
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