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Counties offer a wide variety of services for seniors
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Money and health are crucial, but there's much more to life - and so there are lots of services available to those retired.
Happily, even though the programs are many, the place to find out about them and sign up for them is a single county office.
The counties give their offices slightly different names, but their purpose and function are largely the same: provide the central point of access to and education about services to senior citizens and the disabled, including their own programs and those of others.
Misono Miller is the executive director of Cumberland County's Office on Aging & Disabled, a position she's held for half of the 39 years she's worked in public social service.
Her agency's offerings are an example of what those in or near retirement can expect to find in their county, and her vast experience makes her as familiar with such programs as any official.
Miller said many of the services offered are means-tested - available only to individuals making, for example, less than about $25,000 per year.
But quite a few are open to all, asking a donation from those who can afford it and free to those who can't, she said.
The luncheon program is one of those. At eight sites across the county, anyone 60 and older can get lunch for a donation of $2 or for free, Miller said.
For those who can't get to the sites, there is Meals on Wheels, the famous home-delivered-meals program. That asks for a $3 donation. "We get quite a lot of donations that help us serve more people," Miller said.
The Cumberland Area Transit System, or CATS, provides free transportation to seniors and the disabled daily within the county. It also goes to medical facilities outside the county five days per week, she said.
The Office on Aging & Disabled also supports one of the most precious aspects of retired life: involvement.
Its Retired and Senior Volunteer Program places those 55 and older among 60 stations of possible public service - including work in schools, daycare centers, nutrition sites, libraries, hospitals and "almost any agency that needs volunteers," Miller said.
Some of the 450 volunteers currently serving help environmental groups, such as the Nature Conservancy's Bayshores Center and the Bayshore Discovery Project's oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald, she said.
This week, the agency opened a new outreach office, at 99 W. Broad St. in Bridgeton. For convenience, there are 10 outreach stations across the county open on various days.
Among some of the other services available through the agency:
n a senior ID program for discounts at many stores in the county;
n help with property tax freeze applications for age 65 and older;
n free state and federal park and recreation passes for seniors, including free fishing licenses;
n stickers so vehicles can park in handicapped spaces;
n help applying to federal and utility energy assistance programs;
n emergency funds for those who can't afford food and housing;
n farmer's market coupons (available after Monday, June 29) worth $30 for an individual and $60 for a couple;
n help with Medicare and state and federal prescription drug benefit programs.
There are so many services and programs, in fact, that whatever the need of someone in later life, they should call to find out what's available to them, Miller said.
The same goes for similar offices, one in each county. Their numbers and addresses are listed nearby.
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Posted in Business on Friday, June 26, 2009 6:45 am Updated: 6:57 am.
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