Editor’s Note: October is Community Support Month. The first week of the month is dedicated to Meals on Wheels. In this story we share how important Meals on Wheels are for William, a CCD client who has received hot meals for four years.

Living alone can have its challenges for anyone, but when you’re a senior the challenges can be even more daunting.

Berthy Franken’s father-in-law William has lived alone for about a year since his wife died. He doesn’t cook and given Berthy has a full-time job, there’s little time to meal prep for William. Thankfully, Community Care Durham’s Meals on Wheels (MOW) takes care of the cooking for her.

“He gets hot meals every day,” she said. “It’s a big help.”

William and his late wife started receiving MOW about four years ago. Berthy said her mother-in-law got to a point where she physically couldn’t do a lot of things she used to do.

“Mom just couldn’t cook anymore. It wasn’t safe,” she said.

Now that William is alone, he’s not only comforted by the delicious meals that are delivered daily, but he also enjoys the conversations he has with the volunteers who deliver them.

“The volunteers are really friendly,” Berthy said. “He enjoys those visits so much.”

While the visits provide William with much-needed social interactions, they also provide a valuable safety check. Recently William was taking a nap when the CCD volunteer came to his front door. The volunteer called Berthy to make sure everything was okay when William didn’t answer.

“They rang the doorbell, but he was napping and didn’t hear it. The safety check is so important, especially when somebody lives alone. You never know,” she said.

Berthy appreciates the services that are available at Community Care Durham. The MOW has helped her family out immensely and are a big reason why William continues to live at home, where he wants to be.

“It does help us out a lot,” she said. “We’re trying to help Dad out as much as we can. He wants to stay in his house, and this helps him do it.”