Celebrate Older Americans Month by Planning Ahead, Enjoying the Now
May is Older Americans Month and Elder Law Month – a good time for older adults to celebrate themselves and for younger generations to applaud and honor their elder loved ones.
For those who live in senior living or retirement communities, social activities are often built in. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious communities also provide social engagement opportunities in addition to the core religious and spiritual aspects. People living on their own may find it more challenging to find social interaction and other opportunities to stay physically active and socially and intellectually engaged.
Resources to help find these types of opportunities or to navigate particular aspects of aging (health care and housing, for example) are plentiful, but it is sometimes overwhelming to know where to start. One resource is Eldercare Locator, managed by the federal Administration for Community Living. Eldercare Locator also provides information on housing, such as resources for home modification, insurance, elder abuse and financial exploitation, and more. See https://eldercare.acl.gov/ or 800-677-1116 and https://acl.gov/.
Another resource is the local Agency on Aging. The Harris County Area Agency on Aging, serving Harris County, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Area Agency on Aging, serving twelve counties surrounding Harris County, offer exercise classes, provide Medicare benefits counseling, provide resources for caregiving, transportation, and more. See https://www.h-gac.com/area-agency-on-aging and https://www.houstonhealth.org/services/aging.
Local community centers, libraries, colleges, and universities not only have resources, but may also host seminars, book clubs, and other events geared to retirees.
Although many people want to stay at home as long as possible, some may wish to move to an independent living facility for just the reasons described above—for social interaction. Others find that they need to move out of their home because of the type of care they need. In either case, older adults often feel overwhelmed by the options or may not even know where to begin their search. And for people who are able to stay at home and need assistance or caregiving, finding caregivers and other resources can also be a daunting task.
One resource is the Aging Life Care Association – their website has a searchable list of care managers, as well as other resources. See https://www.aginglifecare.org/.
Care managers for older adults can often help with navigating Medicare and other health insurance benefits, assessing a person’s need for the type of caregiving needed, and finding professionals and others to provide day-to-day care. For information on caregiving and housing for family members whose loved one has a specific needs, such as memory care facility, organizations focused on Alzheimer’s or other dementia afflictions can be very helpful.
In addition, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has designated May as Elder Law Month. While young adults and parents of school-age children are busy with graduations and end-of-year activities, it is a great time for older adults to review their estate planning documents and health care advance directives to see if they should be updated. For those who do not have these documents in place, now is the time.
Nothing contained in this publication should be considered as the rendering of legal advice to any person’s specific case but should be considered general information.