SourcePoint celebrates 25 years of service

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As SourcePoint celebrates its 25th anniversary, Executive Director Bob Horrocks is focused on the future and serving more Delaware County residents.

“I pinch myself sometimes,” Horrocks joked Tuesday. “In the very early days, it was kind of touch and go whether we were going to be in existence the next year. To see the organization grow and, more importantly, to see the lives we impact every day, it’s just phenomenal. It’s wonderful to be part of the organization that’s affecting so much in people’s lives and making a difference.”

Horrocks said SourcePoint is more than just the enrichment center and said SourcePoint also offers services like transportation or Meals on Wheels to older individuals that allow them to live in their homes instead of having to relocate to a retirement facility.

“We tried to figure out what the community needed,” Horrocks said. “We’ve created a system, a one-stop, where people can call one number and have a licensed social worker come to their home. We organize services now in the community and we can order up services and know that they are going to be there for people. That really was the major initial impact we wanted to make.

“People were telling us, in the early days, ‘We don’t know where to go for help and if we find a place, chances are, there’s a waiting list’ and we wanted to make it just as easy for people to stay in their own home with a little help as opposed to maybe unnecessarily going to a nursing home,” he added.

Horrocks said the number of people served by SourcePoint grows every year and said that over 25 years, SourcePoint has served 7,700 clients.

“As of yesterday, we were serving 1,175 people in their homes,” Horrocks said. “We enroll people every day.”

Looking ahead, Horrocks said SourcePoint wants to continue to increase capacity and services.

“Our older population is really growing rapidly,” Horrocks said. “Not only is Delaware County one of the fastest growing counties in Ohio, but our older population is outpacing that growth. Our primary concern is just keeping pace with that growth.”

Horrocks said much of the growth is in the southern part of the county and SourcePoint needs to increase their accessibility to not only the southern portion, but also Ostrander, Ashley, and Westerville.

“The job for the last ten years has been just trying to keep up,” Horrocks said. “One of the great things about the growth of our older population is that this community really benefits from folks that are retired, in terms of support they give to their families and the support they give to the community through volunteering. This center has been a great tool to attract people who want to volunteer and get involved. That’s a big part of our future, expanding the number of volunteers.”

Horrocks said SourcePoint also owes a great deal to the Delaware County community.

“This community has been so supportive,” Horrocks said. “Although we have big challenges ahead of us, we know right now we are making a big difference in the lives of a lot of people and I have no doubt that we are going to continue to do that well into the future.”

By Glenn Battishill

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Contact Glenn Battishill at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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