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Aging Together groups have annual talk
Every day in the United States, 6,000 people celebrate their 65th birthday. In the next 10 years, that number is expected to climb to 10,000 per day, as the senior citizen population continues to increase.
In the Piedmont area, services to address the needs of seniors are more crucial than ever. Recognizing this, Aging Together, a community partnership of more than 100 individuals and organizations in the five-county region of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock, formed to help.
The partnership held its annual Community Conversation on Aging at the Daniel Center for Advanced Technology on Thursday, May 22. More than 50 seniors turned out to contribute their ideas on how Aging Together can better meet their needs, as well as how seniors can contribute to the community.
"The ideas they gave us for how the community can best take advantage of the gifts of seniors included arranging inter-generational and multicultural opportunities for people to share stories and perspectives and learn from each other," said communications coordinator April Holmes. "They also want us to continue to have gatherings like the community conversation and have seniors mentor youth."
Keynote speaker Dr. Mark Williams of the University of Virginia, is a specialist is geriatrics. He spoke about the ever-increasing life expectancy for Americans, which now averages 80 years old.
"It is no longer news that someone has reached 100 years old. You can go in a Hallmark card store and buy a card for someone reaching 100," said Williams. "Everybody in this room has a 50/50 chance of living to the age of 80, so the opportunity to grow old is now a reasonable and real expectation for each of us."
Along with receiving feedback from the community, the partnership presented some of its accomplishments over the past year. The opening of the DayBreak Center in Culpeper last fall was among those successes.
"Back at our original community conversation in 2006, you guys talked to us and you told us that the majority of seniors in Culpeper and the surrounding area are being taken care of by someone, be it a family member, a friend, or a neighbor," said Nancy Wells. "Keeping that person in their home was your goal. To do that, you told us that you needed financial support, physical, and emotional support."
Other successes included a family caregiver support group, which trains caregivers how to aid seniors at home, and a health and wellness work group, which brought new resources to the area in keeping seniors safe.
"They have been working to educate first responders and case managers on the signs of abuse and neglect when they go into people's homes, so that they then know who to report back to and get services to seniors as early as possible," said Aging Together project manager Chris Miller.
Other efforts included a service station project, which provides preventative maintenance for seniors' vehicles by several local service stations. Ten stations in Culpeper are participating in the program and will provide free tire pressure and fluid checks, with some offering discounted repairs.
Home repairs, an area where seniors are often vulnerable to over-pricing, is another program Aging Together developed. Partnering with the department of human services, handymen in the area will complete repairs such as installing handicap railings or ramps for little or no cost to seniors.
"Some seniors are vulnerable to unreliable handymen who don't finish projects or who do poor workmanship. We thought this was something that really needed to be addressed immediately," said Jenny Biche Culpeper County resource specialist.
All of these services can be accessed by contacting Aging Together at 829-6405.
You may contact Hilary Lewis at 825-9882 or email hlewis@timespapers.com
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