North Hempstead, NY – The Town of North Hempstead’s innovative senior initiative, Project Independence, reached a milestone this week as the 200,000th Project Independence service request was placed at the Town’s 311 Call Center. Project Independence is one of the few programs of its kind in the entire nation, offering members social and recreational programs, community education, volunteer services and transportation.

Of the 200,000 calls received at the 311 Call Center regarding Project Independence over 100,000 of them were for the transportation program, which provides free or discounted taxi rides for shopping and medical appointments. There was also over 13,000 inquiries about health and mental health services and over 12,000 calls to register for Project Independence events. The 311 Call Center averages about 500 Project Independence requests a week.

“Our seniors are actively utilizing our Project Independence Program,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “This aging-in-place initiative has given thousands of seniors a sense of well-being, made them more confident and allowed them to remain in their own homes. We couldn’t do it without our 311 call Center, whose operator provide helpful and personal service to our callers.”

Created in 2009 as an aging-in-place program for the Town’s nearly 60,000 residents over 60, PI has assisted aging residents in remaining in their own homes and familiar surroundings. Since then it has answered a total of 127,525 service requests and taken 76,039 requests for rides to food shopping and medical trips.