Sampson County is a rural county with a large population of poverty-level income and elderly citizens. The county has limited private sector access to basic need services. It is therefore the desire of the County government to implement policies and services to meet the needs of citizens whose needs are not being met by the private sector. These actions will be done within the available and approved County resources.
The Sampson County Department of Aging is established to identify needs, and to develop services to meet those needs. Any age person can be helped within the services regulations, but a concentrated effort is made to serve those persons who are elderly, low-income, and/or disabled. The primary purpose of the Department is to provide services and referrals which allow a person to live independently in a residence of their choice for as long as possible in their physical and mental state. It is believed that the well-being and comfort of the majority of individual, handicapped by age or disability, can usually be better and more economically served in their own homes rather than an institutional setting.
It is not the intention of the Department to replace family responsibilities, but to provide support for them to better carry out their duties for the aging or disabled person(s) in their care.