Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LANETT— A large group at the Lanett Senior Center on Tuesday took advantage of an opportunity not only to protect their health but to do a little Christmas shopping as well. They were able to get free COVID and flu shots and to receive free $25 gift cards to Walmart for each shot. 

An estimated 60 Valley seniors turned out for a similar event a few weeks ago at Valley Pharmacy. Certified Pharmacy Technicians A.J. Hadaway and Faith Williams administered the vaccinations at both locations.

The two clinics were arranged by Montgomery-based Independent Rights & Resources and funded by a federal grant. Anyone who is 60 years of age or older or who has some kind of disability is eligible to participate in the program. Chambers is among 18 southeast Alabama counties in the Montgomery district. Other counties in the district include Montgomery, Lowndes, Dallas, Autauga, Chilton. Coosa, Elmore, Tallapoosa, Macon, Bullock, Pike, Lee, Russell, Barbour, Henry, Dale and Houston. Three other districts in Alabama are centered in Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville.

“We have reached a lot of people through this program and are hoping to continue it again next year,” said Montgomery district spokesman E.J. Wright. “The grant we have received allows us to reach out to our aging population and those with a disability. We were in Valley on Nov. 15 and reached a lot of people that day. We are looking forward to another good turnout today in Lanett.”

Independent Rights & Resources provides such services as advocacy, peer support, information and referral, independent living skills training, transitioning, transportation, computer literacy, ADA assistance, housing searches and payee representation.

Wright said the organization believes that anyone with a disability should enjoy equal access with others, know their needs better than anyone else, have control over their lives and should be provided the dignity of taking risks. 

The mission of Independent Rights & Resources is to empower those with disabilities to fully participate in their communities.

For more information, go to www.independentrandr.org. Mayor Jamie Heard came by the event to thank Wright for bringing this to the Lanett Senior Center and expressed his appreciation to Hadaway and Williams for bringing their skills to give the COVID and flu shots.

Independent Rights & Resources works with U.S. Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in providing services to Alabama’s aging population and those with disabilities. ADRCs serve as single points of entry into the long-term services and support system for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, veterans and families.