Article by Joe Landon in the Naples Florida Weekly on January 18, 2024

Collier Resource Center: Navigating the complex network of social services

Looking around us, it’s quite obvious that Collier County has a sizable senior population. Some 397,444 people call Collier County home on a year-round basis. Of that, 308,884 are adults, and of that, 119,479 are over the age of 65. And when you factor in our beloved snowbirds, as many as 100,000 annually — it’s a lot of seniors.

The Collier Community Foundation, as it works with its nonprofit partners to help reduce gaps and duplication of services, the organization became aware of the fact that our community lacked a type of senior services position that many other communities host; an inter-agency senior services liaison, according to the Foundation’s Vice President of Grantmaking, Laura Simmelink. They were concerned since we have a significantly older population here compared to other areas — our 33 percent over age 65 compared to 22 percent for the rest of the state.

“We determined that Collier Resource Center (CRC) would be an excellent partner to house and manage this senior liaison position because it aligns closely with their mission and work,” says Ms. Simmelink. “That’s why we offered to fund it on a tapering basis for three years,” she adds.