{"id":1032,"date":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/"},"modified":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","slug":"leland-kiang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/","title":{"rendered":"Leland Kiang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming together to help others<\/h2>\n
\"Helpline
Photo Courtesy of Philip Gerlach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leland Kiang, who manages and frequently answers Iona\u2019s free Helpline, has a lot of people leaning on him. 2,869 to be exact. That is the number of people who made 4,605 calls to the Helpline in the past year. Staffed by social workers every weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Information & Referral Helpline was set up to answer common \u2014 and uncommon \u2014 questions and to refer callers to services and programs in our area. Anyone can call the line. Iona gets inquiries from residents throughout the region as well as family members living across the country and overseas who have older relatives in the Washington area.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy affinity for working with older adults stems from my grandmother, who helped raise me,\u201d says Leland, who has a master\u2019s in social work from Catholic University. He worked as an Iona case manager before taking over the Helpline in 2008. The job, says Leland, is part social worker, part resource librarian.<\/p>\n

Most of the questions to the Helpline come from caregivers \u2014 spouses, adult children, close friends, and professionals \u2014 but some come from older adults interested in resources for themselves. Callers represent the spectrum of income levels. During the recession, there was an increase in inquiries related to financial support.<\/p>\n

Today, many people are looking for affordable housing. Callers also want to know about free or low-cost transportation services, home care services, government benefits, and home-delivered meals. \u201cSometimes the call is from an adult daughter or son who has noticed that mom or dad isn\u2019t functioning well,\u201d says Leland. \u201cThey are overwhelmed and don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to sort out where the need is,\u201d he says. \u201cIf the caller is anxious, I let her vent, which gives me time to figure out how I can help.\u201d Questions run the gamut. Are they trying to find out if Medicare pays for long-term care? How to support a parent who is being discharged from the hospital? How to help a family member who is depressed or socially isolated? Leland frequently refers callers to Iona\u2019s team of experts, which includes case managers, social workers, and a dietician, among others.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Helpline, Leland produces the Bi-Weekly Resource Digest distributed to a mailing list of 1,000 area professionals. \u201cThe Bi-Weekly Digest is phenomenal, very valuable,\u201d said Mary Ann Floto, United Way\u2019s 211 Program Manager. \u201cI\u2019ve passed it on to information and referral colleagues in Maryland and D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how this work has influenced thoughts about his own aging, 49-year-old Leland points out that he has the privilege of witnessing both the challenges and the rewards of aging. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of courage and resiliency,\u201d he says. \u201cAt Iona \u2014 and throughout the community \u2014 I\u2019ve seen people collectively coming together to help others. If anything, it\u2019s inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get answers yourself call (202) 895-9448 and ask for the Helpline or email info@iona.org.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Written by Janice Kaplan<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coming together to help others Leland Kiang, who manages and frequently answers Iona\u2019s free Helpline, has a lot of people leaning on him. 2,869 to be exact. That is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":1033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeland Kiang - Iona<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leland Kiang - Iona\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Coming together to help others Leland Kiang, who manages and frequently answers Iona\u2019s free Helpline, has a lot of people leaning on him. 2,869 to be exact. That is the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Iona\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/fpo-personal-story-headshot.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"we@designindc.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"we@designindc.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/\",\"name\":\"Leland Kiang - Iona\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/38a97404c2b1e41084fbaf757c1c6f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leland Kiang\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/\",\"name\":\"Iona\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/38a97404c2b1e41084fbaf757c1c6f9b\",\"name\":\"we@designindc.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0506cc0876dae213275d0b3c87f9e19b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0506cc0876dae213275d0b3c87f9e19b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"we@designindc.com\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/iona.org\/author\/5fc82c94435ba3ae\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leland Kiang - Iona","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leland Kiang - Iona","og_description":"Coming together to help others Leland Kiang, who manages and frequently answers Iona\u2019s free Helpline, has a lot of people leaning on him. 2,869 to be exact. That is the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/","og_site_name":"Iona","article_published_time":"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/fpo-personal-story-headshot.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"we@designindc.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"we@designindc.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/","url":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/","name":"Leland Kiang - Iona","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-10T00:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/38a97404c2b1e41084fbaf757c1c6f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/leland-kiang\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iona.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leland Kiang"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iona.org\/","name":"Iona","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iona.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/38a97404c2b1e41084fbaf757c1c6f9b","name":"we@designindc.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iona.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0506cc0876dae213275d0b3c87f9e19b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0506cc0876dae213275d0b3c87f9e19b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"we@designindc.com"},"url":"https:\/\/iona.org\/author\/5fc82c94435ba3ae\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iona.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}