Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of December 10th
Note: the Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s Senior Friendship Centers and Home Delivered Meals programs will not be in operation on December 24th and 25th, and on December 31st and January 1st.
The Office for the Aging headquarters will be OPEN for regular hours (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) on Monday, December 24th, but closed for the Christmas holiday on Tuesday, December 25th. We’ll also be OPEN regular hours on Monday, December 31st but closed for New Year’s Day on January 1st.
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
THE HOLIDAYS ARE THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT AGING
When seniors and their children live far away from each other, chances are they may only get to see each other periodically. This often makes the end-of-year holiday season a time when adult children first notice Mom or Dad having trouble managing their independence, but the topic of aging goes unspoken. These get-togethers are so rare, and why cause a fuss? You’ll get to the conversation soon enough, right?
Bad news, however, has a way of showing up before the conversation ever happens, when seniors and their children are back at their respective homes, sometimes thousands of miles apart. Somebody slips on the ice in mid-January and breaks their hip; they lose their life savings to a scammer; or they crash their car because their driving skills have deteriorated. At that point, you and your family are left scrambling to deal with the issue of aging with fewer options available to maximize senior loved ones’ independence.
If you’re a senior reading this column, I’ll repeat what I wrote in an earlier Golden Living column: A big part of aging gracefully is learning to accept help gracefully. Your family, friends and caregivers care about you and want you to age as safely and as independently as possible. Working with them on a plan to adapt to aging is a key step toward that goal.
When making a plan, it helps to consider later life’s four biggest challenges:
- Whether to retrofit a familiar home to meet seniors’ living situations, or to move into a new home with senior-friendly design features, also known as universal design;
- Whether to restrict driving, and whether to give up the car keys altogether;
- When to get help with health care decisions;
- When to turn over household financial decisions and bill-paying to a trustworthy third party.
Once you have a plan with which everybody’s comfortable, you’re more likely to have a clearer head when an emergency does arise and a much better chance of making a good decision under pressure.
You don’t have to have the entire conversation during the holidays, but you certainly should begin it. For families separated by distance, there’s no better time than when you’re all together.
The conversation can begin with a story that shows how a senior’s desire for continued independence and preparing for independence-threatening emergencies are two sides of the same coin. If you know a senior who has happily adapted, tell their success story to your senior loved one who might be apprehensive.
If you’re part of a civic organization or seniors’ group in Dutchess County, an Office for the Aging “Successful Aging” presentation for your group might be just the thing to get you started thinking about a plan. To find out more, contact Outreach Coordinator Brian Jones at bjones@dutchessny.gov or (845) 486-2555.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Office for the Aging upcoming events
Unless otherwise indicated, call (845) 486-2555 for more information
All events subject to unannounced schedule changes
Mon 12/10, 10:30 a.m. – “The Benefits of Microgreens”
Followed by lunch and dessert both featuring microgreens
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
City of Poughkeepsie Senior Friendship Center
110 South Grand Ave.
Tue 12/11, 10:45 a.m. – “The Benefits of Microgreens”
Followed by lunch and dessert both featuring microgreens
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Maplewood Apartments, 457 Maple Ave., Poughkeepsie
Tue 12/11, 11 a.m. – Anti-Scam Presentation
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
The Regency at Fishkill, 100 Regency Dr.
Snow date: Thu 12/13, 11 a.m.
Thu 12/13, 11 a.m. – “The Benefits of Microgreens”
Followed by lunch and dessert both featuring microgreens
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Tri-Town Senior Friendship Center
55 Overlook Rd (rear of American Legion building), Poughkeepsie
Fri 12/14, 2 p.m. – “Nutrition and Cancer Prevention”
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
The Landings of Poughkeepsie, 251 Boardman Rd.
Wed 12/19, 11 a.m. – “Nutrition and Cancer Prevention”
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Millerton Senior Friendship Center, 21 Dutchess Ave.
Sat 3/16/19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – LaGrange Association Library volunteering event
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
488 Freedom Plains Rd. (Route 55) #109
www.laglib.org or (845) 452-3141 for information
To request an Office for the Aging presentation for your senior, social and/or civic group, get in touch with outreach coordinator Brian Jones at (845) 486-2555 or bjones@dutchessny.gov. All your group needs to provide is a venue that’s wheelchair-accessible and open to the public, with space to set up a projector and screen. We have our own projector and screen – but if you have those, let us know.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, Medicare/Medicaid, scam prevention, senior housing, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
DECEMBER ONLY – PATHSTONE ACCEPTING SECTION 8 WAITING LIST APPLICATIONS
PathStone’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program this month is accepting applications for placement on the program’s waiting list.
The PathStone Section 8 program administers vouchers subsidizing low income individuals and families in Dutchess County. Applications will be available until December 31, 2018, only at
PathStone
29 Marshall Route Suite F
Wappingers Falls NY 12590
Applications will only be available between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Completed applications must be returned by mail via the US Postal Service to the above address.
No walk-in applications will be accepted.
The head of household for the person or family requesting an application must be at least 18 years old at the time of application. Only one application per family will be accepted. There is a limit of one application per envelope. Individuals submitting more than one application per family will be disqualified. All Dutchess County residents must provide proof of address.
Applications postmarked after December 31, 2018 will not be accepted. Incomplete or illegible applications will be returned to sender and logged as ineligible.
Phone calls requesting an application will not be accepted.
Preliminary eligibility will be based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Voucher program income guidelines. Applications must have annual household incomes no greater than the following limits by family size:
| Household size | Income limit |
| 1 | $33,150 |
| 2 | $37,850 |
| 3 | $42,600 |
| 4 | $47,300 |
| 5 | $51,100 |
| 6 | $54,900 |
| 7 | $58,700 |
| 8 | $62,450 |
(subject to HUD revisions)
Upon receipt of a completed application, you will receive notification via U.S. mail of your acceptance to the waitlist.
Being placed on the waiting list is neither a guarantee of a Section 8 voucher, nor a final determination of eligibility for a voucher.
PathStone Corporation promotes fair housing and equal opportunity. Reasonable accommodations may be available to disabled families upon request. PathStone Corporation does not discriminate against creed, race, religion, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, family status or disability.
MILERTON SENIOR FRIENDSHIP CENTER MOVES JANUARY 2ND
The Village of Millerton and Town of North East are in the early stages of a Community Development Block Grant-funded effort to improve access to village and town government offices in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because the OFA Millerton Senior Friendship Center is located in the same building as village offices, the Friendship Center will be relocating in advance of expected renovations, around the corner to the Millerton/North East Library Annex at 28 Century Blvd., effective January 2, 2019.
The historic Library Annex is used for many other community activities, so seniors who use the Friendship Center at the new location will be able to find out about more things to do in the community…and as its name indicates, it’s within a few feet of the library.
For more information, call the Office for the Aging at (845) 486-2555. Outside the 845 area code, including in the 518/838 area codes, call toll free (866) 486-2555.
Other aging news online:
41st President George H.W. Bush, who passed away earlier this month at age 94, kept a diary for 57 years. The Bush Foundation is releasing excerpts from the diary in video form – starting in 1998: https://abc13.com/politics/president-bush-reflects-on-aging-in-new-video-series/4808277/
Holiday hints for Alzheimer’s caregivers: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/holiday-hints-alzheimers-caregivers
Tips on avoiding Medicare/Medicaid scams: https://health.usnews.com/health-care/health-insurance/articles/2018-11-13/how-to-avoid-medicare-scams
(And remember, if you’re in a club or civic organization, you can arrange for Outreach Coordinator Brian Jones to talk to your group about all kinds of scams and how to stop them. Email bjones@dutchessny.gov to find out more.)
In the UK, an 88-year-old secretary with the National Health Service is suing for age discrimination:https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/88-year-old-nhs-worker-sues-for-age-discrimination/
This week in senior birthdays:
12/10: Actress Susan Dey (66)
12/11: Businessman/philanthropist Aaron Feuerstein (93)
12/12: Game show host/animal advocate Bob Barker (95)
12/13: Actor/singer/dancer Dick Van Dyke (93)
12/14: Tennis player Stan Smith (72)
12/15: Physicist/mathematician Freeman Dyson (95)
Oldest living New York Yankee Eddie Robinson (98)
12/16: Singer/songwriter Benny Andersson (Abba) (72)
Our next joke is brought to us by Santa Claus, who’s comin’ to town:
Q: What do you call a singing Christmas tree?
A: Spruce Springsteen.
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
27 High Street
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
