Bangor-area seniors take part in policymaking forum on aging

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BANGOR – About 20 area senior citizens spent Thursday afternoon at the Freese’s Assisted Living facility on Main Street, working hard to improve life for people their age all over the state.

The senior forum, organized by the Eastern Agency on Aging, brought together an outspoken and motivated group of people who had plenty to say about the challenges of growing old in Maine.

It was just one of more than a dozen such meetings taking place across the state this week and next, the results of which will be used to set the agenda for the coming Blaine House Conference on Aging in September.

Maine’s population is among the oldest in the nation, and there may not be enough younger people available to provide hands-on care and assistance as the baby boom generation ages, according to Noelle Merrill, director of the Bangor-based EAA.

Merrill told the seniors gathered at Freese’s that policymakers must look ahead to ensure that Mainers live healthful, happy and independent lives for as long as possible – and who, she asked, is in a better position to guide those policymakers than seniors themselves?

The participants broke into three groups to brainstorm pre-identified areas of concern: healthful aging and volunteerism; housing and transportation; and caregiving, safety and protection.

The groups met in separate rooms to discuss their areas of interest and reconvened to share their conclusions and recommendations.

In the discussion on caregiving and caregivers, Marie Murthy, 61, said she has “a big issue” with agencies that provide workers in people’s homes.

Murthy, who is severely disabled by arthritis, said agencies lack the staff they need to fulfill their obligations to their clients. She and others in her Bangor building often find themselves without the assistance they need to live safely and healthily, she said.

Another member of the group said seniors are often reluctant to allow strangers into their homes, even when those strangers are professional caregivers sent by an agency.

And one member observed that family caregivers often find that their relationships with spouses and children strained by the demands of caring for a needy relative.

The group discussing housing and transportation issues agreed that housing complexes should try harder to provide mental stimulation and physical activity for their residents. They also said most seniors are not aware of the range of services available to them, especially public transportation options.

The healthy aging and volunteerism group attracted the most participants. Topics included providing seniors with more healthful food choices, motivating them to be more physically active and compensating them for volunteering their time to community causes.

Charles Colburn, a resident of Freese’s for the past year and a half, said he and his wife Elizabeth delivered hot meals to area residents for 15 years. Colburn said he always grew a big vegetable garden and shared the produce with older people who couldn’t have their own gardens. Elizabeth Colburn died in 2005.

“I don’t do volunteer work now because I can’t drive,” Charles Colburn said. But Marcia Larkin of the Penquis Community Action Program assured the gregarious 84-year-old historian and outdoorsman that her agency could not only provide him with transportation but also connect him with volunteer options such as the foster grandparents program.

At the end of the afternoon, participants reconvened in the dining room to discuss their findings and select priorities from among the recommendations. Items receiving the most votes were:

. Provide more support, including benefits and ongoing education, to professional caregivers.

. Regulate agencies so they are more consistent in providing the services their clients depend on.

. Establish a “clearinghouse” of volunteer opportunities for seniors, so they can make meaningful contributions to their communities. The participants stressed that this resource must not be housed on the Internet, since too few seniors own computers or are comfortable with online activities.

. Improve marketing of transportation and other services.

. Require public housing for seniors to provide more activities, including exercise and academic offerings.

. Develop a volunteer program that pays seniors a stipend for their time and commitment, modeled on the federal VISTA program.

. Develop incentives for older Mainers to stay physically active.

. Develop incentives for companies to employ senior citizens.

Former clergyman and personal counselor Vance Williams of Thomaston is a big promoter of keeping seniors gainfully employed in the work force for as long as they want to work.

“Our culture is hijacking seniors and their interests, convincing them that they ought to work for nothing more than a gold pin or a pat on the head,” he said. “But these are the same people who tell us they can’t afford to keep their houses or buy food.”

Williams, 75, was among the participants who raised their hands when asked who was willing to act as a delegate to the Blaine House Conference on Aging.

That event, where issues identified in the senior forums will be drafted for presentation to Maine legislators and the governor, is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21 in Augusta.

It’s not too late to take part in the senior forums. A few are scheduled for next week, including one in Millinocket on Wednesday August 30, from 9 a.m. to noon at Stearns Assisted Living.

For more information, visit the Maine Office of Elder Services online at www.maine.gov/dhhs/beas or phone the Agency on Aging toll-free at (877) 353-3771.