SOSMagAprilJune2022

Serving Our Seniors REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY 2,947 Number of calls to Serving Our Seniors asking for help 1,180 Individual older adults who called with a question/problem/concern 219 New older adults calling Serving Our Seniors who never called in the past Nutrition 5,341 Rural Home Delivered Meals 0 Rural Lunch Groups met due to Covid-19 Guidelines 95 Older adults used weekday transportation funded by Serving Our Seniors 1,495 1-way trips were taken by older adults who paid a bus fare of $1.50 36 Older adults used Weekday Transportation at a reduced fare of 50¢ per 1-way trip 739 Trips were provided to the 36 people for 50¢ per 1-way trip 31 Older adults used Out of Town Transportation to get to their health care appointments 56 Trips were driven to take 27 older adults to their health care appointments 4 Older adults were given a total of 7 gas vouchers, so they could afford to travel out of town to their health care appointments Priority Programs 5 Small Home Repairs 9 New Ramps Installed 136 Ramps in Service throughout Erie County Services to Support Independent Living at Home Education Offered 553 Medicare Counseling Sessions (group and individual) October 2021 through December 30, 2021 From the Director When you think of in-the-field, boots-on-the-ground farming, few people are aware of the physical roles many women play in making Erie County farms productive. To celebrate the many remarkable women who do this work, our cover story features three local female farmers and/or farm hands. I hope you enjoy their stories and how this work has shaped them into the people they are today. It is with great optimism that Serving Our Seniors is planning to open its doors and convene forums and events starting in May. (Fingers crossed.) Check out our Calendar of Events on page 4 and sign up for our public forums. It is our hope no masks nor proof of vaccination will be required to ensure each other’s safety. May is Older American’s Month. Its theme is Age My Way. In the month of May, and for the rest of your life, you are encouraged to explore what YOU can do to improve your quality of life, health and take an active part to make your community a supportive place for aging well. For your health, read the articles on pages 5, 21, and 26. It is a great place to start learning how to get the most out of the health care system as an older person. June is Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Unfortunately, a necessary designation. The growth of this prolific and insidious crime committed against older Americans. To make your more aware, be sure to read page 10 and 13. On the right side of the page is our report to the community. It is a quick glimpse of we have helped Erie County residents maintain their functional independence in Erie County, between October 2021 – December 2022. If you enjoy receiving the magazine will you help us? Please tell our advertisers that you receive and enjoy reading Serving Our Seniors Magazine and you saw their ad. Thank them for being an advertiser. It is they who pay the cost of printing and mailing the magazine directly to your door. We couldn’t do it, otherwise. Happy Older Americans Month! Sue Daugherty www.servingourseniors.org 419-624-1856 3