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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-08-28-COA-rpt2.pdf RECE,IVED SELECTMFN °'-'; AUG 28 1 jzncil on Aging Activities and the Senior Center 1. BACKGROUND The Lexington Council on Aging was organized in the winter of 1976. The goal of the CoA program is to assist in the creation of a reason- able living environment which will enable the elderly to continue to live in Lexington when their incomes have been greatly reduced by retirement and eroded by inflation, and when some require relief from loneliness or assistance due to infirmities. The CoA is an advocate for the 4500 senior citizens. in 1976 a questionnaire Was sent to all Lexington senior citizens asking the to state their particular needs. These needs were assessed, and theCoun.•il has been working to fill these needs since that time. The first CoA newsletter was written in March of that year. A coordina- tor was found who volunteered four hours a week and staffed the office with other volunteers the remainder of the time. The office activities were then in two rooms on the second floor of the Visitor's Center. The Coordinator went on the payroll in June of 1976 as a part-time Town employee. The Council on Aging was originally composed of seven members who served up to three year terms. In 1978 the Board was enlarged to eleven members. At the 1978 Town Meeting a resolution was passed endorsing the. concept of a Senior Center. The resolution read: "'Whereas more than 4,000 persons in Lexington are 60 years of age or older, (greater than 10g of the population) and there is no adequate space currently available in Lexington for said Senior Citizens to meet on a d=aily basis, and whereas a Senior Center would help alley-late loneliness for the many senior citizens who live by them- selves, provide intellectual stimulation, provide a place to develop and pursue Interests, provide a place to congregate for meals, and provide information and referral; and whereas spaces are needed as l �f 4 a .day care center for the frail elderly to help them maintain them- e selves in their own home environment. Therefore, this Town Meeting resolves to request prompt action by the Board of Selectman and the Senior Center Site Committee to develop a plan for permanent, and if necessary, temporary facilities to serve adequately the needs of our senior citizens as set forth above. It is further resolved that a written progress report is requested on or before May 15, 1978. William Sen, Chairman of the Council on Aging, was recognized at the request of Roy Weinstein, Town Meeting Member and also a member- of the Council oh Aging. Mr. Sen spoke to the needs of the elderly and of the necessity of having a first floor office for the CoA rather that the second floor of the Visitor's Center as they presently have. Mrs. Battin commented that the Board of Selectmen unanimously supports this article and that they have appointed the Senior Center Site Committee to study the va! ,ous sites and that they are to report back to the Board with a progress report by May 15, 1978. " In August 1978 The CoA moved from the temporary quarters in the Visitor's Center to somewhat larger,. still temporary, quarters in the Church of Our Redeemer. This move allowed the CoA to start several programs on an "experimental" basis as outlined to the 1978 Town Meeting. These are among the programs reviewed in part II of this report. One of the major reasons for the move was to provide "experi- mental prom ' that a senior center would indeed, be used. We include a chart at the end of this report, covering, 1977/78 and 1978/79 showing the growth of the programs in the "experimental"center at the Church of Our Redeemer. In meeting its charge to assist the seniors, the CoA engages in activities which fall into three broad catagories. First, there are several existing organizations and established services designed to assist seniors. The Council provides an information center which may be called for "Information and Referral" to any of the existing services provided by other organizations. The Council Telephone number, 861-0195 is now called over 5000 timesper year by people in need of such guidance. An additional 4500 visits per year are made to the CoA Drop-In-Center. A second broad catagory of COA activities includes services provided directly to seniors by the CoA. These consist of programs not gennerally supplied by other groups, activities called for by CoA clientele, and needs perceived by the CoA and introduced at first, on a trial basis. The bulk of the next section of this report will be devoted to such activities. The third broad activity of the CoA is its role as an advocate for the seniors vis a vis, Town and State Government. There are projects which are desirable but which cannot be funded from gifts or volunteer services, or from the CoA Town budget, for example, a nutrition program. Like other formal advocacy groups in Town Government (Recreation Comm. , School Comm. ) it is the CoA's role to demonstrate such needs and initiate such projects in the Town Government structure. The final section of this report will be devoted to one such project, albeit the largest one - the proposed Senior Center. II CoA ACTIVITIES The activities which have been organized and/or supported directly by the CoA are listed below: IDENTIFICATION and DISCOUNT CARD issuance was the first program that was established by the Council. At present over 2000 Lexington citizens over 60 years of age have visited the CoA to obtain such a card. Over ?5 stores in Lexington and surrounding towns offer Lexington seniors discounts ranging from 10% to 40%. These stores were all contacted, and a discount book was produced by volunteers. The booklet has been updated once. 4 ARLEX TAXI CO. has offered the senior citizens taxi coupons, available through the CoA office. These coupons can give the seniors a 20% dis- count on taxi fares. FRIENDLY VISITOR PROGRAM - presently 30 volunteer visitors visit 30 shut-ins once a week for approximately one hour. There is a monthly meeting of these Friendly Visitors at which a Geriatric Social Worker from Mystic Valley Mental Health is available for advice. A year and a half ago high School students became involved as visitors, and now 15 students are numbered among our visitors. The bridging of the genera- tion gap is one of our great delights. Numbers, of course, do not tell the human story of ah activity such as Friendly Visitors. For example, George, a young man who was one of our high school visitors, formed a great and loving relationship with an elderly gentleman, Mr. Y. The man had no son and the two were marvelous with each other. Mr. Y. got ill and had to go to a Nursing Home. The young man was there to help ease the pain of the transition. He still visited the elder and helped him get his house in order, figuratively and physically. Mr. Y. repeat- edly stated what joy had been brought to his life by George. When the end came George brought flowers to put on Mr. Y's casket. GROCERY SHOPPING FOR THE SHUT-INS - was initiated by the CoA in conjunc- tion with Concord Hill Market and FISH (Friendly Immediate Service and Help) Emergency drivers. The drivers deliver food weekly which has been ordered from the market. The identification cards are used to identify seniors to the market. The drivers return to the market with the payments. Although this program has not yet met its potential, it has served a half a dozen clients extremely well for over three years. These people are among the most satisfied clients we have. A couple of them have not been out of their houses for years, and the delivery enables them to live at home. de have many kind thank-you cards to testify to their gratefulness. O Ef TE EOA33E PROGRAM - reassurance calls, has grown from three seniors,four • t years ago, to fourteen people at present. The Staff or.Volunteers call these people each morning to check their well being, and to offer a cheerful Hello seven days a week. This, again, is a small but most important program. In conjunction with various other programs it helps keep elderly seniors in their own homes instead of living out their days in Nursing Homes. It helps maintain independence, which is what much of life is all about. Sometities Telecare is the only contact these people have all day with another human voice. We have also been instrumental in getting these clients to receive proper and prompt medical assistance when they becdm? i11. We become adept at what each of their voices sound like, and can frequently tell by listening if they are not in reasonably good health. Nevertheless, unhappy surprises do occur. On one occasion the coordinator had been talking and joking with a gentleman. All seemed fine. However, the next morning we received no answer to our call. Our emergency teat went into action. We notified his family. They found that he had died some time during the previous day. The coordinator felt solace in that she was probably the last person that this man had talked to, and that he was in a good frame of mind and was happy. When emer- gencies occur we have a procedure to follow. We have the names of next of kin, or neighbors who have keys. We have had keys ourselves at different times. If we get no answer we wait 15 minutes and call again. If after the third call, we still receive no answer we call their friends or family, and if there is still noresponse , we then notify the police and go to the person's house along with the police. Fortunately, we never have had to break down a door, but if the case arises We will get in by whatever means are necessary. Of course there is a responsibility on the part of the client as well, and that is that they MUST let us know if they are not to be at home on a certain morning. INFORMATION AND REFERRAL - is a critical part of the work of the Council office. This is taken care of mostly by the CoA staff, but many respon- sible volunteers help with this program under the staff 's supervision. This service has grown rapidly as the CoA became better known. In the fiscal year ending in June 1978, 2538 callers were provided with infor- mation on programs available from the CoA and other agencies. In the year ending June 1979, 4994 calls were handled. OUTREACH PROGRAM - is maintained by a "Senior Aide", Mrs. Stohn, funded by Minuteman Home Care Corp. She works 24 hours per week. She visits shut-ins and is our emergency caller. If we feel we have lost contact with a person, she calls or visits to see if everything is all right. If we hear of any probiem,Mrs. Stohn makes contact. In one case, for example, she was instrumental in rendering first aid and continued surveillance to an elderly lady in town. The woman had been hallucinating. Mrs. Stohn con- tacted Mystic Valley Mental Health and together they solved the problem. The woman had been taking too many medications. Now that the problem is solved the woman is fine again. And, returning once again to one of our main themes, she is still able to live alone at the age of 87. MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS. This is one of our most successful programs and has celebrated its third birthday with a party at the Church of Our Redeemer. In 1977 Dr. Sylvia Merfeld and the CoA Coordinator, Joan Melcher, arranged, with Symmes Hospital, to provide meals to shut-ins . Two meals are delivered daily about noon; a hot main meal and a light supper. As usual, we started slowly, but present serve between thirty and thirty-six clients on a five day per week basis. Dr. Merfeld resigned In February and now Mrs. Ruth Sawyer is in charge of the program. We cater to clients ' special, diets and preferences. If a client cannot afford the price of these meals, special arrangements can be made via a CoA "scholarship fund". Sixty-five volunteers, both men and women, pack and deliver the meals . The drivers also serve as Friendly Visitors to the recipients. We have found that people who have been careless in their , appearance suddenly dress up to receive these callers. In addition, often friendships develop so that much more is accomplished that just the delivery of meals. The drivers often spot health or physical problems that can be alleviated at an early time, and they often provide much needed conversation and human contact. EMERGENCY MEAL PACKAGES - of a different kind can also be obtained from the CoA office. We feel that it is a good idea for seniors to have these packages handy in case of a blizzard or other problems. They are composed of canned or packaged food, in individual servings, which can be used hot or cola. They should be kept on hand for anyone who cannot shop readily. FACTS LUNCHEON - (Female Adolescent Community Treatment Services). These luncheon6 served by girls and their teachers from a Boston Half Way House, are another nutrition oriented project. These get togethers were helpful to the seniors who were served a good, nutritious lunch for a very reasonable cost, and also were beneficial to the girls to enable them to get involved again, and to do something worthwhile. Unfortunately because the following year the girls ' school schedules did not permit the girls to leave school before 1:30 p.m. and that was too late for the seniors' lunch hour. We have also had a group of Boy Scouts serve lunch during their Easter vacation. This was also so successful for all concerned that the scouts plan to repeat this luncheon during other vacation weeks in the coming year. CONGREGATE MEALS - this is one of the programs which has been postponed due to inadequate space. The program provides nutritious meals at the very low cost 01.65) to Seniors. We estimate the needs of Lexington seniors to be about 13,000 of such meals per year. At present Lexington citizens can only get such meals in other towns, such as Bedford and Arlington. The average travel cost alone to these nutrition sites exceeds 3 by far the cost of the meals, and precludes use by most potential Lexington users. As a result, in 1979 for example, Drily 653 of such meals were served to Lexington residents in place of the estimated 13,000 meals needed. The cost of these meals has in the past, been picked up by a combination of Federal and State Programs. Lexington may still be able to obtain such aid, but by delaying this nutrition program, it may have already forfeied such help. MINI BUS - this program has been in effect for three years. Each Friday a bus will pick-up a senior or -handicapped person at their own door and take them shopping, to Lexington center or to Burlington Mall. They can stay at the Mall for several hours and then be returned home. All anyone has to do, to avail oneself of the opportunity, is to call the C & W Transportation Co. (862-4747 ) .Thursday or Friday morning early to make reservations. Although the Lexpress has cut into our number of riders to a large extent we feel this program is still very important. The special services enables some people to get out of their homes who other- wise would be unable to do so. A special kind of friendship has developed on these weekly trips and the people have developed a caring attitude for one another. A very special gentleman has volunteered his services for these three years He helps the people off and on the bus, helps them with their packages, takes them into their homes, and acts as host of the entire trip. TRIPS AND RECREATION -Barbara Luckmann, Carolyn Deloury and the CoA Coordinator are in charge of the planning and executing of at least three trips and various recreational affairs monthly. They try to suit everyone's taste from baseball games,to sailing around the Tall Ships,. to attendance at symphonies. Over 700 different people have participated and enjoyed these trips in 1979. People pay for their own admissions and/or lunch. The CoA budget covers some of the cost of the busses and helps with other senior club activities. It is often not a matter of not 9 being able to afford special trips and concerts, but as one gets older the problems of organizing such an outing, driving the car and parking increases severely. The CoA does the organizing and people can go to many more functions. Also the companionship is so important, especially to the new senior residents in town. Picnics during the summer months are sponsored jointly by the CoA and the Recreation Department. These are held at the "Old Res" and well over 100 seniors have attended each time. We also hold Pot Luck Suppers, Sing-a-.longs, and Bovies at the Church of Our Redeemer in the early evenings. An indoor picnic met with great success. NEWSLETTER - these are published monthly and mailed to all seniors. Over 51, 000 newsletters were mailed last year. The Newsletter editorial board, Elizabeth War and Margarite Cronin, meet twice monthly with the Coordina- tor to plan and write the newsletter. We write articles of special interest and publish ideas and articles submitted by readers. We also take this means of keeping all the readers informed of our many events and social functions and other events of interest to Seniors. We have a committee of men that mimeograph the letters at the high school. Two days are spent collating the letters by volunteers, who use this time for socializing, as well as doing very important work. The cost of mail- ing these newsletters has recently been greatly reduced. The mailing is now done by The Friends of the CoA, a non-profit organization described later in this review. ELDER CHORUS - YOUNG AT HEART - the chorus meets with leaders, Marian Fitzpatrick and Lyn VerMeer, Wednesdays at Estabrook Hall. The chorus has 25 members who enjoy singing and entertaining in Nursing Homes and other organizations in Lexington and surrounding towns. Not only is singing fun, but it helps with exercise and breathing of the singers. The chorus is a sheer delight to listen to, a case in which both the per- former and the audience benefits. LEGAL AID - Paul McNamara, a paralegal, sponsored by the Minute Home Care Corp. comes to the office semi-monthly to help .the seniors ' legal and medical problems. Sixty-seven different people took advantage of this service last year (F/Y 79) . We are most enthusiastic about this program as it helps defray the cost of much legal advice etc. TAX AND FINANCIAL HELP - John Carlson, treasurer of the CoA donated his time to help seniors with any problems of this nature. This was a new and very needed program. John's untimely death in May of this year will set back this valuable program, run by an invaluable man who will be greatly missed. TEE OIL PROGRAM - otherwise known as Emergency Energy Assistance Program, Winter Emergency Assistance Program and most recently the Somerville, Caibridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc. was run during the fall, winter and spring of 79/80 entirely and capably by our CETA worker, Frank DiMaria. Over 170 Lexington clients, who need help with their oil and utility bills, and met financial guide lines, have been helped this winter. Mr. DiMaria was the only full-time employee of the Council on Aging. It would be useful, were privacy not essential, if these cases could be reviewed by Town Meeting, some of whose members truly-believe that there are no needy in Lexington. BRIDGE LESSONS - are offered weekly by Morris Freifelder. This program continues 10 months a year when Mr. Frief elder is in town. DROP IN CENTER - although often crowded and uncomfortable, the Drop-In- Center is open three days a week. Seniors come for games of all. kinds , bring their lunch and are furnished coffee and cookies, compliments for the year of 1979 of the Lions ' Club. This center often helps seniors with a cnange of atmosphere. It enables them to get out of their own homes , if even for a few hours, to make new friends and to partake of strictly social meetings. We have husbands who drop their wives off here, and Al wives who drop their husbands off here for a few hours so that they can K go shopping. Often we have seniors, who are just plain lonely and bored at being alone, come down and meet new people. The Drop-In-Center enjoyed 4421 visits in FY'79, up from 1945 in 1978. This is another example of the increasing effect, reputation and use which the CoA is having in its "experimental" center. CoA OPEN HOUSE - is held at the Great Hall of the Church of Our Redeemer when the Coordinator and staff feel there is a program of interest to seniors. We try to keep these programs informative as well as fun for all. We are always recipients of delicious refreshments furnished by volunteers. We have had as many as 90 people at an Open House. ARTS AND CRAFTS - co-sponsored by the CoA and the Recreation Department. The seniors learn all kinds of new skills under delightful and talented teachers. The present facilities are inadequate, however, and with proper facilities this program could be greatly expanded in FY'79, 14 seniors joined these classes. Handicrafts in the forms of afghans and woolen slippers have been made and donated to Middlesex County Hospital and the New England Rehabilitation Center (again benefiting both' the giver and receiver) . These hospitals either give or loan the articles to their patients who are always delighted at these lovely, colorful gifts. JOB PLACEMENT AND COD'ANIONS - this program is carried out by the Coordinator. It typically takes several hours to make a compatible match. We have a list of ladies, with good references, who will work for pay for clients and are able to provide a great variety of different kinds of services. This, again, is really a two-way street serving both the com- panions and the clients. This service helps keep the sick, or recovering patients in their own homes and out of the hospital. On the average three placements weekly are made. COUNSELLING - . is a major service offered , under the guidance of Mystic Valley Mental Health Inc. . , by the Coordinator. Many times just someone to talk things over with is all that is needed. We have ears that are always willing to listen and hearts to sympathize. In the FJ '79 year 37 people received such counselling. MINUTEMAN HOME CARE CORP. AND TRI COMMUNITY CLINICS - these are agencies Which work closely with the CoA and which provide needed services to the seniors. The Minute Man Home Care Corp. is a state funded organization which provides services to seniors whose income falls within certain guide line. The Lexington CoA uses $2,244 of its budget to support MMHCC. The CoA also provides members and alternates to the MMHCC Board of Directors. In return for this input Lexington residents received in FY '?9, for esanple, $46,000 worth of assistance. In addition to services mentioned elsewhere in this report MMHCC supplies chore and homemaker assistance. In Fy'79 the former were supplied to 20 and the latter to 22 Lexington residents. The TriCommunity Clinics in FY'?9 served almost 200 Lexington residents on almost 1000 visits. VOLUNTEERS - none of the activities described above could be accomplished without the many many hours of willing work done by a total of well over a hundred volunteers. Volunteers augment the part-time staff of the CoA, working in the office doing most important, but sometimes tedious work. The number of volunteer hours devoted to CCA work in FY '79, including Meals on Wheels, discussed above, was 6,255.This involved 125 different individuals. The monetary value of the hours and of the almost 15,000 miles driven by CoA volunteers is about $21,000. This, and the MMHCC contributions valued at $46,000. greatly exceed the effectiveness of the CoA budget of x;26,820. and stretch its effectiveness by 3i times. But much more important, the wonderful volunteers, who help out repeatedly, often on short notice, provide the real spirit and life of the CoA and /J are representative of the human value of the services provided to the seniors. We can never repay these faithful volunteers except by a "well done" and their own knowledge that they perform an important job well and with love for other human beings. CO: '"ITTEE ON COUNCIL ON AGING (from surrounding towns) - was conceived by this office as a way of listening, learning and helping. We can exchange ideas with other towns with similar problems and programs. This group Meets quarterly but all the coordinators are willing to help each other when any difficult problem situation arises. LEXINGTON ASSISTANCE FUND - conducted by Joseph Rooney and the Coordina- tor and a committee of 5 business people in Lexington. This committee hears problems mostly financial of people in town. It offers usually one time assistance to these emergencies in the form of a check for outstanding kills for food itself. WORKING WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL - EDUCATION COURSES - education classes for senors are held at the high school due to lack of space at our rooms. _ Twice during this year various high school groups have held delicious buffet suppers for the seniors in which almost 200 seniors partook each time. FRIENDS OF THE COUNCIL ON AGING - is a relatively new group with Mary MacDonald as Chairperson. This group is a nonprofit organization composed to town people of all ages, to act as advocates for the council, to raise money for the council's needs and to broaden the sources of guidance for the Council activities. They are willing to help in any future needs of the Center we dream of someday occupying. FUTURE NEEDS - we truly need a Center that is large enough to enable us to carry out our many diversified programs in pleasant and adequate surroundings, to allow these programs to grow to service the seniors wee need them. We outgrew the Visitors Center. Although the Church of I? Our Redeemer has been a marvelous host and catered to us whenever possible, we are rapidly outgrowing our present quarters. We do need Congregate Meals in a barrier free place and a kitchen to facilitate any cooking that we do. Many residents would come daily, not only for a nutritious meal, at a reasonable price, but for companionship as well. There is nothing like companionship to tempt the palate. With proper space, pertinent programs, as well as weekly dances, could be held after lunch. Health needs could also be addressed. We do not know, for sure, what the future holds, but we can foresee a a future when oil gets even more expensive and the houses have to be kept colder than the elderly can safely occupy. Then seniors will spend more and more time et a Center in order to keep warm and save money on fuel and food as Well. The Arts arid. Crafts Room could be considerably expanded into a more inviting environment where finished handcraft could be made and displayed and possibly sold in a Gift Shop for handmade items are of interest to us all. We need a root to carry on the office mechanics of getting out the Newsletter and xeroxing our many papers. Much time 'is now spent in going to the Town Hall for this process. We believe we could obtain the machinery, as a gift, if we had place to use it. A Counselling Room and a private office for the Coordinatorare also badly needed. Many times a senior person in desperate need of counselling is forced, because of lack of space, to sit in the busy CoA office and tell her private story and seek help in a public bustling room completely devoid of privacy. The CETA Worker and Paralegal need privacy to deal with their clients. It seems particularly cruel that when people are under stress that this office and this town cannot offer a quiets private place to sit and talk. The CoA does not provide services or receive calls for help from all the seniors or even a majority. But many of the seniors do need help. !tr We live in an economy in which inflation is contributed to both by shortages of raw material and by overt government actions and policy. Seniors who have saved frugally for retirement have most often seen the real value of their savings and personal income cut in half in five to ten years. These blows occur when infirmity of age and loss of family frequently make it most difficult to recover. We believe we must provide assistance. One should no tore deny the needs of a non-majority but needy group of our seniors than one would deny special help to the small per- centage of special needs school population. These problems will not diminish but will increase as the economic problems continue and the number Of seniors increase. Lexington is nearing a period when our senior population and our school aged popula- tion will be equal, yet the funds available for their very different problems differ by almost 1000 to 1. In 1979, 4421 people came through the doors of the CoA for some reason, double the number of the previous years. You must bear in mind that four and a half short years ago the Council on Aging in Lexington did not exist. There is no Other Council, Committee or Club that has seen such rapid growth. This is because we are filling a desperate need for many seniors of Lexington. Won't you help us find a Center that will be the pride of all of Us? II ::IMS SET FOR THE NEAR FUTURE: 1. Insure availability of heated emergency shelters or sleeping quarters. 2. Initiate a Congregate Meals Program in Lexington to provide inexpen- sive, nutritious meals at low cost subsidized by Federal and State Programs. 3. Proceed toward implementation of a permanent Senior Center. The present pilot center has proven successful. 4. Continue to develop a committee structure for the CoA to involve more townspeople and to enable the CoA to involve itself in additional /0, 44 activities. 5. Improve Outreach by making services available to seniors in outlying areas of Lexington. III FISTORY OF ACTIONS ON A LEXINGTON SENIOR CENTER See attached Sheet