When Rebecca Lerfelt joined PLOWS Council on Aging, she thought she’d stay there for five years. Instead, she retired 43 years later, having been present for nearly all of the agency’s 50 years. Now known as Pathlights, it’s marking its first half-century this year.
Lerfelt, a social worker, was one of the earliest employees at the agency known for serving older adults.
“I think we were incorporated in June of 1975. I was hired in October 1975,” she said. The others were a gerontologist, a secretary and a director who stayed only a few months before being replaced by Don Chapman, who stayed in the post for 42 years.
“You don’t get a lot of opportunities in social work to start something and build it,” Lerfelt shared. “You go into agencies that are already established. When you start one, it’s kind of like your baby.”
The agency was created not long after Congress amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 to create the National Institute of Aging and authorized grants for social services to help older adults. Its original name was originally POW, for Palos, Orland and Worth townships, but the federal government insisted two nearby townships be added – Lemont and Stickney – so the name became PLOWS, she explained.
“When I started, I was the social worker,” Lerfelt said. “I not only developed the service but I was the service.”
To spread the word about the new agency’s services, the gerontologist spoke at service clubs such as the Lions Club and other civic organizations to provide information about resources available for older adults. “If you have information referral, you need to have information. The idea was to figure out what was out there – what information did people need,” Lerfelt said. “Initially I worked with all of the townships because the information wasn’t centralized. (Instead) we had a volunteer in each township.”
She led the elder abuse advisory committee for the state for more than 10 years as well as developing programs and working on more of a statewide and national level.
She said the agency’s culture is one reason she stayed. “You have opportunities for growth. You meet new people, get new ideas. It’s a very alive thing,” she shared.
“It was very intoxicating to be there. …. People get along. The leadership is always easygoing with expectations. You’re allowed to breathe and live there. I might be saying that because I was part of leadership,” she joked.
Although she no longer works at Pathlights, she continues to volunteer for its Senior Health Insurance Program, or SHIP. It’s a federal program that advises people about Medicare.
She called it a “commitment” because she lives in Vernon Hills — about an hour away from Pathlights’ office, which is in Palos Heights, and travels every other week to counsel people. “I’ve really enjoyed it. It gives me a chance to just be a social worker and deal with clients, and I also learned a tremendous amount.”
That longevity isn’t constrained to Lerfelt. She pointed to her fellow employee Riki Kauffman, who worked at the agency for 40 years, and Elaine Grande, who worked there for 20 years before replacing Don Chapman as executive director.
“When she came she started as a housing person because we were trying to expand housing opportunities and then she did five other different roles,” Lerfelt said of Grande.
Grande has just as much admiration for Lerfelt and Chapman.
“There’s a real heart to the organization. For the first 40 years, Pathlights was guided by our executive director and assistant director,” she shared. “It was their leadership that has built it up to where it was in modern times, up to 2015, so they were deeply committed and laid the foundation of what we do today. … For me, I’m really carrying the torch for all the tremendous work that’s been done.”
Grande described the agency as a “care coordination unit” – a full service area as the “adult and disability resource network provider, and we are also the caregiver resource center in Palos, Lemont, Orland and Worth townships. That means all services that are available for older adults come through Pathlights,” including adult protective services.
Pathlights’ geographic boundaries changed Oct. 1, with the addition of Bremen and Rich Townships as shared service areas. “They have the same services available to them but we’re providing them with other partners,” Grand said. “So we’re providing them with Catholic Charities and Metropolitan Family Services.”
The addition came about because Catholic Charities, which had provided all services in south suburban Cook County, decided to stop doing that, so Pathlights had an opportunity to apply for the role. “It’s very exciting because we’re happy we can serve more people,” Grand said. “Certainly Rich Township is a new opportunity because we get to work with new partners down there, new municipalities. There are other community-based organizations we’re getting to know so we can contribute to all those communities.”
Expanding its reach has meant hiring more staff. “We are now the point of entry for people who want to learn about services available” in Bremen and Rich townships. “That means we had to expand our information and assistance specialist so they were able to respond to the volume. We also had to hire more caregiver specialists because we’re the caregiver resource there. They are trained and certified. It’s a specialized area to provide caregiver support for (unpaid caregivers) who are caring for older adults.”
Grande said the two townships have 45,000 people older than 60. “Not all 45,000 need Pathlights’ help, but there are a lot of older adults living in these established communities. … In the six townships we serve, there are over 130,000 people over 60. We anticipate we’ll be serving more than 20,000 people this year,” she said. “Not everyone needs our services at this time, but as people age, they may.”
She said thus far the reaction has been positive. “People are very welcoming and very eager to partner with us, to learn what we do and how we can support their communities.
In its 50-year history, the agency has helped more than 250,000 people, Grand estimated. “Some people could have been clients for 30 years, and some for one year, depending on their circumstances,” she said.
“There is more focus on supporting older adults, more funding. More attention given to serving older adults. Plus, a lot of people are living alone. That was less likely 50 years ago. You usually aged in the community you grew up in. The world has changed because sometimes people need more support because they don’t have family close by.”
One milestone Grande mentioned is rebranding the agency in 2021. “Our services and mission remain the same. It was just the name we changed and we wanted our name to reflect the work we do rather than the area we serve. … It’s a good thing, because how could we fit Bremen and Rich into the little acronym?” she joked.
Several events are planned to mark Pathlights’ golden anniversary, including an age well symposium Sept. 25 in Alsip and a gala May 2 at Orland Chateau. “It will be a real peek at our celebrations as we honor the past, celebrate the present and embrace the future as we continue our mission of serving older adults. So that will be a very important day for us – the fun celebration,” Grande said. Gala tickets, $150 per person, can be bought via its website, pathlights.org.
Grande and the board are not content to simply celebrate this milestone, however.
“We’re also in the planning process for our next five years, so we’re developing a strategic plan which we will also be sharing with everybody during the year. We have a fantastic team. They are really committed and want to serve,” she said. “We’re reaching more people, so it’s worthwhile.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
