St. Luke’s has been providing needed community services to seniors and promoting elderly independence since being founded in 1865 as a home for civil war widows. In 1982 St. Luke’s initiated a program to provide outreach support services to the homebound elderly living independently in the community. In 2003, through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, St. Luke’s developed a volunteer service model based on communities working together to provide valuable needed support services to low income elderly.

Today our outreach services are available to seniors living in Middletown, Cromwell, Portland, East Hampton, East Haddam, Haddam, Durham, and Middlefield. There are nearly 17,000 individuals over the age of 60 in our 8 town service area. Of those 1000 are minorities and more than 1750 are near poor or 150% of poverty level. Our outreach services and education program reach more than 500 seniors annually. We have a trained volunteer force of more who provide assistance to more than 150 homebound elderly. Services include providing outreach services, grocery shopping, and transportation to out of area medical appointments, education, case management, minor home repair, chaplaincy, and friendly visitors. In addition, we have 25 HUD, independent living apartments on Broad Street, Middletown.

The agency also provides case management, daily financial management, social programs, chaplaincy services, resource information to individuals/caregivers and provides education/advocacy on elder care issues.

St. Luke's works collaboratively with elderly service providers and was instrumental in the formation of the Middlesex Elderly Service Provider group which meets monthly for the purposes of ongoing education on issues of importance to providers and to form a collaboration of providers to meet the growing needs of the elderly.

St. Luke’s programs are supported through the generosity of: State of Connecticut Department of Social Services Aging Services Division, Middlesex County Community Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Fund and the George A and Grace L. Long Foundation, Middlesex United Way.