Non-profit offering free services for homebound adults, caregivers in Phoenix

Duet: Partners In Health and Aging offers compassionate services to family caregivers and aging adults free of charge.

Ann Wheat, Executive Director of Duet, joined “Arizona Horizon” to explain the mission of the organization and how to access Duet’s services.

Started in 1981 by The Reverend Dr. Dosia Carlson and Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix, Duet is a non-profit, interfaith organization promoting health and well-being through its vitally needed, free-of-charge services to homebound adults, family caregivers and grandfamilies.

“We do that in three core areas, we support family caregivers of adults. We support kinship families, so these are primarily grandparents who take on raising their grandchildren after they’ve been taken away from the parents due to abuse or neglect. And then our third program which was the first service that got Dosia started is volunteer support for home bound older adults,” Wheat said.

Duet’s services are based on one person helping another, partnering with individuals, businesses, non-profits, municipalities, government organizations and faith communities across Phoenix.

“Just to put this in perspective, that the volunteers for Duet are the heart of the organization. We have 19 staff and over 400 active volunteers. And the majority of those volunteers are providing transportation, rides to grocery stores, friendly visits, help with paperwork or even paying bills, and just being a good friend and neighbor to the folks we serve. We call them our neighbors, and some of these relationships have lasted 30 years and it makes all the difference for that person who may never see another, anyone else in their isolated lives,” Wheat said.

For more information on how to get involved with Duet’s efforts, you can call them at (602) 274-5022 or visit their website duetaz.org.