Reaching The Elderly
Melissa Mauser Galvin, Ph.D., M.P.H
Executive Director, Alabama Commission on Aging
How can we focus public policy and resources on the needs of the elderly? How can we assure that elderly members of minority groups are full participants in aging programs? How can we better inform the public as to the rights and entitlements of the elderly? How do we dispel the myths of old age? The Alabama Commission on Aging (ACOA) must provide answers to a host of questions that have just begun to be asked.
The number of older Alabamians is on the rise and we all face new challenges as well as new and increased opportunities. While most older Alabamians are active and healthy, a growing number of older persons are at risk of losing their independence, so it is vitally important that we build our capacity to respond to their needs.
The ACOA has begun a strong, well-organized public information/education effort as one way we can help to insure that the needs of the elderly are met. We want to provide the elderly with information to gain access to needed services and assistance. At the same time we want to alert the general public to the needs of the elderly and enlist their efforts and support in a variety of ways. Through a network of Area Agencies on Aging, we are working to unify and improve the administration of services to the elderly.
We believe that in order for the elderly, as well as the public, to benefit from the services and programs provided by the Alabama Commission on Aging and the Area Agencies on Aging, they must know what services and programs are available and how to make use of them. Listed below are a few of the Older Americans Act Programs administered by the Commission on Aging:
- Nutrition Services (Meals on Wheels, Home Delivered Meals, Congregate Meals, Nutrition Education/Counseling)
- Ombudsman Services
- In Home Services
- Preventive Health Services
- Legal Assistance
- Telephone Reassurance and Letter Writing
- Chore and Transportation
- Information and Referral
Help us reach the elderly! We can better serve if we "gerontologize" the public, "depoliticize" service and publicize this our programs. For more information on services and programs available to the elderly, please contact your local Area Agency on Aging or call our toll free telephone number 1-800-243-5463.
You can reach the Alabama Commission on Aging by writing to them at P.O. Box 301851, Montgomery AL 36130-1851, or calling (334)242-5743.
Published July-August 1999, Alabama Prime
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