Highland County commissioners recognize Older Americans Month
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
Highland County commissioners Jeff Duncan, Terry Britton and David Daniels proclaimed the month of May as Older Americans Month in Highland County during their Wednesday, May 4 meeting.
According to the Administration for Community Living, Older Americans Month’s “2022 theme is Age My Way, an opportunity for all of us to explore the many ways older adults can remain in and be involved with their communities.”
Accepting the proclamation were representatives from several local agencies, including Director of Community Services Christi Hauke and Executive Director Julia Wise of Highland County Community Action; Area Agency on Aging District 7 RN Care Manager Ashley Franks and Director of Community Outreach and Training Jenni Lewis; and Highland County Senior Citizens Center Director Mechell Frost and Senior Center members Koni Boatman, Shirley Foster, Shirley McKenzie and Ruth Spendlove.
Commissioners invited the guests to introduce themselves and to speak about their services for seniors in the Highland County area, with much of the discussion focusing on helping older ones throughout the pandemic.
Hauke, who spoke first, said that HCCAO “never closed our doors” during the pandemic, serving “over 1,090 unduplicated seniors” in 2021.
“We served them with 38,360 meals,” Hauke said. “We drove over 78,100 miles to deliver those meals in the year, and then we drove an additional 42,184 miles to transport seniors to medical appointments and to keep them engaged in the community as much as we could during this really difficult time.”
Wise invited commissioners and the community to visit their “congregate site in Greenfield,” where activities such as sign language classes, euchre and bingo are offered each week.
Lewis talked about how AAA7 adapted their services to better help seniors, or individuals with disabilities, during the pandemic.
“Like the CAO, we never stopped throughout COVID,” Lewis said. “We were essential employees and continued to provide services. We had to adapt a bit in providing a lot of that over the telephone with our care managers, but the services that folks receive continued.”
In speaking of the telephone services, Lewis highlighted a new idea borne out of the pandemic, the “Porch Talk” program, that is helping engage seniors who may be feeling lonely.
“It’s a telephone reassurance program,” Lewis said. “If you know anybody in your community who feels extra isolated or lonely and just wants to talk to somebody about anything they we talk about — nothing specific — it’s just a friendly conversation and a friendly chat — that Porch Talk program is available.”
Referrals to that program can be made by calling 1-800-582-7277, Lewis added.
“We do have a social worker who is making those phone calls,” Lewis said. “She's typically calling once a week to the individuals and having anywhere from a 20-minute to an hour conversation with them. As you can imagine, over the two years, she's really developed some relationships with them, and they really look forward to her call.”
Lewis also encouraged seniors to enroll in their annual Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
“That is a program that is federally funded,” she said. “We have farmers that can sign up to participate in that program, and then folks who are eligible for the coupons — you have to apply — if you're eligible, you receive $50 of coupons to utilize at farmers markets from farmers who are participants in our program.
“It's a win-win situation for local farmers and for seniors who could utilize some great fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers who participate with us in the program.”
Lewis also noted that the AAA7 is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, “so it’s a great year for us.”
Frost said that the Senior Center turned 50 in 2020, but they were closed for a 15-month span due to pandemic regulations. However, they reopened in 2021 and are gradually returning to their usual activities and fundraisers, as the center is self-funded.
“We're at the Senior Center Monday, Tuesday and Friday,” Frost said. “We have all different kinds of activities for our seniors to participate in.”
Games offered throughout the week include bingo, Bunco and pool, while they also have exercise classes on Fridays.
“How we continue to do the things that we do through the week is we fundraise,” Frost said. “Of course, we have our membership dues, but we keep our membership affordable at $20 a year for those ages 50 to 89. Once you're 90, it’s a lifetime membership, so it's free. We also offer an associate membership for ages 21 to 49, which is $25 a year.”
One of their most popular fundraisers is an Elvis Presley tribute concert, she added.
Like HCCAO, the Senior Center also offers a meal program, with hot meals served Monday through Friday.
“We’re very happy to do that, and we were able to do that through the pandemic,” Frost said.
Another way they reached out to seniors during the pandemic was helping them with needed supplies, such as toilet paper, that were scarce during some months.
“We put together days where we sent out a one-call, and we had the members come through and gather either food boxes or hard-to-find supplies,” Frost said. “We also had bingo from the car just to get people out and about, so they weren't just at home. We’ve had a lot of car bingos, using a radio transmitter, and just got really creative during the pandemic, just to keep people out and about and socialize a little bit in a safe way from your car.
“Now we're back, and we're so glad to be back in the building. I missed everybody. We could really see a difference in some people not being able to come into the Senior Center, mentally, emotionally and physically. Now that they're back, I feel like we're having a good time again.”
Duncan asked Frost how many members the Senior Center has. She said they average around 500 members.
After hearing from all the agencies, Duncan read the proclamation, in which commissioners “encourage every resident to recognize older adults and people who support them as essential contributors to the strength of our community.”
Also during Wednesday’s meeting:
• Commissioners declared the month of May as Buddy Poppy Month in Highland County. For more, go to: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/Social/Article/Highland-County-commissioners-proclaim-May-as-Buddy-Poppy-Month-/2/74/78929.
• Commissioners met with solar developers and a dog pound volunteer and announced changes to the county’s bidding process. Read more at: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/In-The-News/Article/Highland-County-commissioners-discuss-solar-dog-pound-updates-announce-new-bid-process/2/20/78942.
Check back to highlandcountypress.com for more from the May 4 meeting.
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According to the Administration for Community Living, Older Americans Month’s “2022 theme is Age My Way, an opportunity for all of us to explore the many ways older adults can remain in and be involved with their communities.”
Accepting the proclamation were representatives from several local agencies, including Director of Community Services Christi Hauke and Executive Director Julia Wise of Highland County Community Action; Area Agency on Aging District 7 RN Care Manager Ashley Franks and Director of Community Outreach and Training Jenni Lewis; and Highland County Senior Citizens Center Director Mechell Frost and Senior Center members Koni Boatman, Shirley Foster, Shirley McKenzie and Ruth Spendlove.
Commissioners invited the guests to introduce themselves and to speak about their services for seniors in the Highland County area, with much of the discussion focusing on helping older ones throughout the pandemic.
Hauke, who spoke first, said that HCCAO “never closed our doors” during the pandemic, serving “over 1,090 unduplicated seniors” in 2021.
“We served them with 38,360 meals,” Hauke said. “We drove over 78,100 miles to deliver those meals in the year, and then we drove an additional 42,184 miles to transport seniors to medical appointments and to keep them engaged in the community as much as we could during this really difficult time.”
Wise invited commissioners and the community to visit their “congregate site in Greenfield,” where activities such as sign language classes, euchre and bingo are offered each week.
Lewis talked about how AAA7 adapted their services to better help seniors, or individuals with disabilities, during the pandemic.
“Like the CAO, we never stopped throughout COVID,” Lewis said. “We were essential employees and continued to provide services. We had to adapt a bit in providing a lot of that over the telephone with our care managers, but the services that folks receive continued.”
In speaking of the telephone services, Lewis highlighted a new idea borne out of the pandemic, the “Porch Talk” program, that is helping engage seniors who may be feeling lonely.
“It’s a telephone reassurance program,” Lewis said. “If you know anybody in your community who feels extra isolated or lonely and just wants to talk to somebody about anything they we talk about — nothing specific — it’s just a friendly conversation and a friendly chat — that Porch Talk program is available.”
Referrals to that program can be made by calling 1-800-582-7277, Lewis added.
“We do have a social worker who is making those phone calls,” Lewis said. “She's typically calling once a week to the individuals and having anywhere from a 20-minute to an hour conversation with them. As you can imagine, over the two years, she's really developed some relationships with them, and they really look forward to her call.”
Lewis also encouraged seniors to enroll in their annual Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
“That is a program that is federally funded,” she said. “We have farmers that can sign up to participate in that program, and then folks who are eligible for the coupons — you have to apply — if you're eligible, you receive $50 of coupons to utilize at farmers markets from farmers who are participants in our program.
“It's a win-win situation for local farmers and for seniors who could utilize some great fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers who participate with us in the program.”
Lewis also noted that the AAA7 is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, “so it’s a great year for us.”
Frost said that the Senior Center turned 50 in 2020, but they were closed for a 15-month span due to pandemic regulations. However, they reopened in 2021 and are gradually returning to their usual activities and fundraisers, as the center is self-funded.
“We're at the Senior Center Monday, Tuesday and Friday,” Frost said. “We have all different kinds of activities for our seniors to participate in.”
Games offered throughout the week include bingo, Bunco and pool, while they also have exercise classes on Fridays.
“How we continue to do the things that we do through the week is we fundraise,” Frost said. “Of course, we have our membership dues, but we keep our membership affordable at $20 a year for those ages 50 to 89. Once you're 90, it’s a lifetime membership, so it's free. We also offer an associate membership for ages 21 to 49, which is $25 a year.”
One of their most popular fundraisers is an Elvis Presley tribute concert, she added.
Like HCCAO, the Senior Center also offers a meal program, with hot meals served Monday through Friday.
“We’re very happy to do that, and we were able to do that through the pandemic,” Frost said.
Another way they reached out to seniors during the pandemic was helping them with needed supplies, such as toilet paper, that were scarce during some months.
“We put together days where we sent out a one-call, and we had the members come through and gather either food boxes or hard-to-find supplies,” Frost said. “We also had bingo from the car just to get people out and about, so they weren't just at home. We’ve had a lot of car bingos, using a radio transmitter, and just got really creative during the pandemic, just to keep people out and about and socialize a little bit in a safe way from your car.
“Now we're back, and we're so glad to be back in the building. I missed everybody. We could really see a difference in some people not being able to come into the Senior Center, mentally, emotionally and physically. Now that they're back, I feel like we're having a good time again.”
Duncan asked Frost how many members the Senior Center has. She said they average around 500 members.
After hearing from all the agencies, Duncan read the proclamation, in which commissioners “encourage every resident to recognize older adults and people who support them as essential contributors to the strength of our community.”
Also during Wednesday’s meeting:
• Commissioners declared the month of May as Buddy Poppy Month in Highland County. For more, go to: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/Social/Article/Highland-County-commissioners-proclaim-May-as-Buddy-Poppy-Month-/2/74/78929.
• Commissioners met with solar developers and a dog pound volunteer and announced changes to the county’s bidding process. Read more at: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/In-The-News/Article/Highland-County-commissioners-discuss-solar-dog-pound-updates-announce-new-bid-process/2/20/78942.
Check back to highlandcountypress.com for more from the May 4 meeting.
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