July 21, 2025 • 11 mins
We spoke with Michelle Puzzo, the director of UR Community Cares about the programs and services and an upcoming eye health fair.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Michelle Puzo. She is director of Your
Community Cares. Good morning, Good morning Allison. For people who
don't know about this, Your Community Cares. By the way,
it's you are, so people know. Tell me about your mission.
How did it all come about?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Sure, I have been a physical therapist for twenty years.
I went to the University of Connecticut for physical therapy,
and I was doing home care in my patients' homes
and realized how much need there was outside of just
physical therapy. So I decided in twenty nineteen to build
a nonprofit organization to help fill in the gaps where
insurance companies aren't able to pay people do not have
(00:41):
funding to pay for certain things, and so I thought
I would build an organization to help older adults and
people with disabilities.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well, that's wonderful. How dire is the situation in our
state with people needing more resources and not having the
resources for insurance, etc.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, ten thousand people are turning sixty five every day,
so there are more older people in the world than
younger people in the world, and so communities have to
plan for this. There needs to be more senior housing.
The trends of what had been happening in the world
people in towns. Volunteering is vital because so many needs
(01:22):
are there. People are reaching out to us on a
daily basis. They can't drive for whatever reason, they have
bad eyesight, for whatever reason, there's no transportation. This is
a huge need. We know that housing and with economics
everything getting more expensive. To try to provide free program
is vital to this demographic of people that have so
(01:46):
many needs and health concerns and mental health issues due
to the complexity of living independently at home.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So tell me how do you help people? What are
your programs like?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So we have four different programs. We have our Neighbors
Helping Neighbors, which is where volunteers can go and help
their neighbors with yardwork, housework. They can bring them to
a doctor's appointment, they can bring them to the grocery store,
or they could be a friendly visitor and be a companion.
They can play cards with them, and that is our
flagship program because we started that in twenty nineteen. And
(02:21):
so people can go to York Communitycarees dot org and
sign up to help somebody in their community. Then we
have our Cycling Without Age program, which is a rigshaw,
which is where we bring out two individuals, So you
have a cyclist that brings out two individuals on a
rigshaw into the parks. Last night we were at a
(02:43):
concert so that people with intellectual disabilities could get free rides.
And we're going to nursing homes and assistant living facilities.
We're trying to provide recreation and socialization for people that
are usually isolated and lonely. We also have a tech
center in Chester, Connecticut that's a physical location where older
(03:03):
adults and people with disabilities can come in and better
learn technology. There is a huge digital divide for the
people that even have technology, but they don't know how
to operate it. There's fear and anxiety with scams that
you're seeing all over the news, and so that's paralyzing
people from the goodness that is possible with the use
of technology if you're trained how to watch for scams
(03:28):
and fraud. And then our fourth program is our Vision program.
That's really important because there are like twenty million people
in the US that have vision deficits, so we are
trying to help fill in that gap with supporting them
with different resources that are available.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Tell me what kind of impact has it had on
the people receiving the services. I'm sure they're grateful and
it's less their lives.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh yes, I mean we've had people in our neighbors
helping neighbors, have been working together for over six years.
You know. This allows people to stay home and not
have to go to nursing homes and be independent in
their homes. If they can't go up and down the
stairs to do their laundry, they've been having someone come
in and help them with laundry. And this is all
(04:17):
free of charge because we get grants, private donations, corporate
donations in order to support towns across Connecticut so that
volunteers can continue to do this good work. And we
do background checks. We have all the insurance and liability
to make sure this is safe and secure for the
residents of Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Any personal stories you can share without mentioning names.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Oh yes, Well, in the scenario I was just talking
about is Beth in June, and so it's almost like
a mother daughter situation at this time, because June has
had so many health problems and unfortunately and she doesn't
have any local family support, and so Beth is her
volunteer that goes over almost on a weekly basis to
(05:02):
support her. They might be just organizing her closet in
the spring, she might be putting away this stuff from
the dishwasher, but they work together to make sure that
June can stay in her home. These are really impactful
stories that we hear on a daily basis that allows
people to live with dignity and pride in their homes
(05:25):
with this volunteer support system.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
And is there any kind of training for volunteers if
they'd like to get involved.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, we do have a volunteer handbook. These are basic tasks,
so depending on the program, Like our Rigshaw program, we
have to train people more regulously to make sure it's
as safe as possible for people. So it depends on
the program. Our Tech Center we have different training. But
now we're even taking our Tech Center on the road
(05:54):
and we're going to other cities to teach technology classes
and to really expand our programming in other cities. So
we're excited that. I think with my medical background and
my understanding of the needs in the community, it's been
a great opportunity to network across the.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
State who is eligible to take advantage of these services
and programs.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Anyone over the age of eighteen with a physical disability,
or anyone over the age of seventy. But we really
try hard not to turn anyone away, and there are
certain special circumstances that we take into account, so everyone
is assessed on a case by case.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Basis, and can anybody be volunteer.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Anyone over the age of eighteen gets a background check
and if they pass the background check, and anyone over
the age of fifteen fifteen to eighteen, they just need
parental consent and supervision. So we want those high school
students to be able to get those community service hours.
We want people that need community service for court ordered
(07:04):
community service, we give them a lot of opportunities college students,
but there's a lot of people that are retired that
want to get involved because they feel like they don't
want to be at home all the time, and they're
really great volunteers.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You have an event that's coming up in Norwalk. Would
you like to tell me about it? Oh?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, the City of Norwalk gave us a mini grant
to allow us to start a lot of operations here
in Norwalk, So we're really excited. The first one is
the norwalk Ie Health Fare that's going to be on
August sixth at the Norwalk Hospital from ten thirty to
two thirty, and we're going to have lots of vendors
(07:49):
that are going to be there sharing information and a
lot of resources that will be shared with the community.
We will be collaborating with a Family and Children's Network
are at Norwalk's municipal agent for the elderly, and so
we're really excited to work with them and partner with
them on ongoing efforts to support Norwalk neighbors. At the
(08:11):
health fair, we are going to have vendors such as
Relay Connecticut, Helen Keller Center National Center, the American Macular
Degeneration Foundation, Norwalk Vision Center, the National Federation of the Blind.
We've got a music school coming, and we've just got
all types. We've got transportation resources, got Husky coming, So
(08:34):
we've got a lot of different people that will be coming.
So people can call us at eight six zero four
three zero four five five seven if they want to
sign up and have a free lunch at the event.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
We were talking earlier about donations and of course volunteers.
You can go to yourecommunitycares dot org and find out
more information about that. What about sponsors for They.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Can call us at eight six zero four three zero
four five five seven and we can talk about all
the events that we have coming up this year and
if they would like to be a sponsor, we would
appreciate that support to be able to make our events
even bigger and better each year.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Michelle, what would you say to somebody like yourself who
years ago never dreamed that you would be doing something
like this.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I turned fifty this year and I really feel it's
my best time of my life. I feel like I've
used so many of the experiences I've had to be
able to plan and map out my future. And I
think people that are feeling like they want to do
(09:47):
something different, take a chance on yourself and take that
opportunity to bet on yourself like I did, and I
think you will find if you're passionate and you're really
excited about the project that you're working on, then it
will be successful.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And what advice would you give to someone who's hesitant
to use the services or become a volunteer.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Anybody can call me at any time and we can
talk about what that fear is and really break it down.
Some people don't want to have a background check, and
that is confusing to me because this is the way
we keep it safe and secure so that we know
exactly who is coming into the programs. So it's little
(10:30):
things like that, like I try to educate people that
the reason we're doing all of that is to make
it sure we're sending people that are safe and secure.
So I think once we let people know the reasons
that some of our guidelines exist, I'm able to calm
those fears and they're excited to get involved.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I'm speaking with Michelle Puzzo. She is director of Your
Community Cares. It's you ourcommunitycres dot org. Thank you so
much for being here today and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
Good morning. Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Michelle Puzo. She is director of Your
Community Cares. Good morning, Good morning Allison. For people who
don't know about this, Your Community Cares. By the way,
it's you are, so people know. Tell me about your mission.
How did it all come about?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Sure, I have been a physical therapist for twenty years.
I went to the University of Connecticut for physical therapy,
and I was doing home care in my patients' homes
and realized how much need there was outside of just
physical therapy. So I decided in twenty nineteen to build
a nonprofit organization to help fill in the gaps where
insurance companies aren't able to pay people do not have
(00:41):
funding to pay for certain things, and so I thought
I would build an organization to help older adults and
people with disabilities.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well, that's wonderful. How dire is the situation in our
state with people needing more resources and not having the
resources for insurance, etc.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, ten thousand people are turning sixty five every day,
so there are more older people in the world than
younger people in the world, and so communities have to
plan for this. There needs to be more senior housing.
The trends of what had been happening in the world
people in towns. Volunteering is vital because so many needs
(01:22):
are there. People are reaching out to us on a
daily basis. They can't drive for whatever reason, they have
bad eyesight, for whatever reason, there's no transportation. This is
a huge need. We know that housing and with economics
everything getting more expensive. To try to provide free program
is vital to this demographic of people that have so
(01:46):
many needs and health concerns and mental health issues due
to the complexity of living independently at home.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So tell me how do you help people? What are
your programs like?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So we have four different programs. We have our Neighbors
Helping Neighbors, which is where volunteers can go and help
their neighbors with yardwork, housework. They can bring them to
a doctor's appointment, they can bring them to the grocery store,
or they could be a friendly visitor and be a companion.
They can play cards with them, and that is our
flagship program because we started that in twenty nineteen. And
(02:21):
so people can go to York Communitycarees dot org and
sign up to help somebody in their community. Then we
have our Cycling Without Age program, which is a rigshaw,
which is where we bring out two individuals, So you
have a cyclist that brings out two individuals on a
rigshaw into the parks. Last night we were at a
(02:43):
concert so that people with intellectual disabilities could get free rides.
And we're going to nursing homes and assistant living facilities.
We're trying to provide recreation and socialization for people that
are usually isolated and lonely. We also have a tech
center in Chester, Connecticut that's a physical location where older
(03:03):
adults and people with disabilities can come in and better
learn technology. There is a huge digital divide for the
people that even have technology, but they don't know how
to operate it. There's fear and anxiety with scams that
you're seeing all over the news, and so that's paralyzing
people from the goodness that is possible with the use
of technology if you're trained how to watch for scams
(03:28):
and fraud. And then our fourth program is our Vision program.
That's really important because there are like twenty million people
in the US that have vision deficits, so we are
trying to help fill in that gap with supporting them
with different resources that are available.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Tell me what kind of impact has it had on
the people receiving the services. I'm sure they're grateful and
it's less their lives.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh yes, I mean we've had people in our neighbors
helping neighbors, have been working together for over six years.
You know. This allows people to stay home and not
have to go to nursing homes and be independent in
their homes. If they can't go up and down the
stairs to do their laundry, they've been having someone come
in and help them with laundry. And this is all
(04:17):
free of charge because we get grants, private donations, corporate
donations in order to support towns across Connecticut so that
volunteers can continue to do this good work. And we
do background checks. We have all the insurance and liability
to make sure this is safe and secure for the
residents of Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Any personal stories you can share without mentioning names.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Oh yes, Well, in the scenario I was just talking
about is Beth in June, and so it's almost like
a mother daughter situation at this time, because June has
had so many health problems and unfortunately and she doesn't
have any local family support, and so Beth is her
volunteer that goes over almost on a weekly basis to
(05:02):
support her. They might be just organizing her closet in
the spring, she might be putting away this stuff from
the dishwasher, but they work together to make sure that
June can stay in her home. These are really impactful
stories that we hear on a daily basis that allows
people to live with dignity and pride in their homes
(05:25):
with this volunteer support system.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
And is there any kind of training for volunteers if
they'd like to get involved.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, we do have a volunteer handbook. These are basic tasks,
so depending on the program, Like our Rigshaw program, we
have to train people more regulously to make sure it's
as safe as possible for people. So it depends on
the program. Our Tech Center we have different training. But
now we're even taking our Tech Center on the road
(05:54):
and we're going to other cities to teach technology classes
and to really expand our programming in other cities. So
we're excited that. I think with my medical background and
my understanding of the needs in the community, it's been
a great opportunity to network across the.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
State who is eligible to take advantage of these services
and programs.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Anyone over the age of eighteen with a physical disability,
or anyone over the age of seventy. But we really
try hard not to turn anyone away, and there are
certain special circumstances that we take into account, so everyone
is assessed on a case by case.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Basis, and can anybody be volunteer.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Anyone over the age of eighteen gets a background check
and if they pass the background check, and anyone over
the age of fifteen fifteen to eighteen, they just need
parental consent and supervision. So we want those high school
students to be able to get those community service hours.
We want people that need community service for court ordered
(07:04):
community service, we give them a lot of opportunities college students,
but there's a lot of people that are retired that
want to get involved because they feel like they don't
want to be at home all the time, and they're
really great volunteers.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You have an event that's coming up in Norwalk. Would
you like to tell me about it? Oh?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, the City of Norwalk gave us a mini grant
to allow us to start a lot of operations here
in Norwalk, So we're really excited. The first one is
the norwalk Ie Health Fare that's going to be on
August sixth at the Norwalk Hospital from ten thirty to
two thirty, and we're going to have lots of vendors
(07:49):
that are going to be there sharing information and a
lot of resources that will be shared with the community.
We will be collaborating with a Family and Children's Network
are at Norwalk's municipal agent for the elderly, and so
we're really excited to work with them and partner with
them on ongoing efforts to support Norwalk neighbors. At the
(08:11):
health fair, we are going to have vendors such as
Relay Connecticut, Helen Keller Center National Center, the American Macular
Degeneration Foundation, Norwalk Vision Center, the National Federation of the Blind.
We've got a music school coming, and we've just got
all types. We've got transportation resources, got Husky coming, So
(08:34):
we've got a lot of different people that will be coming.
So people can call us at eight six zero four
three zero four five five seven if they want to
sign up and have a free lunch at the event.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
We were talking earlier about donations and of course volunteers.
You can go to yourecommunitycares dot org and find out
more information about that. What about sponsors for They.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Can call us at eight six zero four three zero
four five five seven and we can talk about all
the events that we have coming up this year and
if they would like to be a sponsor, we would
appreciate that support to be able to make our events
even bigger and better each year.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Michelle, what would you say to somebody like yourself who
years ago never dreamed that you would be doing something
like this.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I turned fifty this year and I really feel it's
my best time of my life. I feel like I've
used so many of the experiences I've had to be
able to plan and map out my future. And I
think people that are feeling like they want to do
(09:47):
something different, take a chance on yourself and take that
opportunity to bet on yourself like I did, and I
think you will find if you're passionate and you're really
excited about the project that you're working on, then it
will be successful.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And what advice would you give to someone who's hesitant
to use the services or become a volunteer.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Anybody can call me at any time and we can
talk about what that fear is and really break it down.
Some people don't want to have a background check, and
that is confusing to me because this is the way
we keep it safe and secure so that we know
exactly who is coming into the programs. So it's little
(10:30):
things like that, like I try to educate people that
the reason we're doing all of that is to make
it sure we're sending people that are safe and secure.
So I think once we let people know the reasons
that some of our guidelines exist, I'm able to calm
those fears and they're excited to get involved.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I'm speaking with Michelle Puzzo. She is director of Your
Community Cares. It's you ourcommunitycres dot org. Thank you so
much for being here today and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
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