Prescription Assistance & Food Distribution 2020

Prescription Assistance

The Prescription Assistance Program, funded by the Foundation for Community Health, actively provides residents with prescription purchase assistance, up to $350 monthly, and can assist with co-pays and insurance premiums. The system allows clients supportive access to their prescriptions after completing a yearly application with Community Action Partnership for Dutchess County (CAPDC).  This program works between the CAPDC office in Dover and local pharmacies. Some partner pharmacies include Benzer Pharmacy in Amenia, McCarthy’s Pharmacy in Stanfordville, Millbrook Pharmacy, Pine Plains Pharmacy, and Resolution Rx in Pawling.

This is an example of assistance we were able to give one of our clients, Joan, from Dover.  She was experiencing health issues that required multiple medications. She was unsure of her Medicaid status and was being asked to meet a large deductible for her prescriptions. Joan had tried contacting Medicaid multiple times, though she had no success. Feeling out of options, she decided to contact the CAPDC for assistance with her mounting prescription costs.

Joan, a Prescription Assistance client, photo by Samantha Riley

Joan visited the CAPDC Dover Plains office and worked with a health care navigator to explore the best insurance options moving forward. The navigator determined her Medicaid status and discussed savings programs. She was also enrolled in CAPDC’s Prescription Assistance Program, funded by the Foundation for Community Health.

Joan opted to use the Prescription Assistance Program’s reimbursement option, which allowed her to pay for medications upfront at her local CVS. The help she received significantly decreased her financial strain, and Joan is now able to continue receiving her much-needed medications. 

Food Distribution 2020

In Partnership with The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, and with funding assistance from the Foundation for Community Health, Community Action Partnership for Dutchess County was able to coordinate Mass Food Distribution sites in Northeastern Dutchess County, including in the Towns of Pine Plains, Amenia, Wingdale, Dover, and Millbrook.

Families that were already struggling to put food on the table were now out of work, with less income, and finding empty shelves in the grocery stores due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Community Action Partnership recognized this need and responded by working with local municipalities, churches, and many volunteers to make food available to those who needed it. In 2020, a total of seven mass food distributions were conducted providing food to over 600 families in rural northeast Dutchess County. 

Volunteers work to separate and bag food for distribution at Stewarts Shops, Pine Plains, NY

Volunteers working at Amenia Town Hall to put food into the vehicles of families in need. Photos by Samantha Riley

Food distribution at Boyce Park, Wingdale NY. All food provided through partnership with Food bank of the Hudson Valley.

Food distribution in Dover Plains, NY, at Holesapple Community Center, set up for social distancing. Photos by Samantha Riley

For more information, visit www.DutchessCAP.org or email us at info@dutchesscap.org