The time may come when you realize you really can’t do all the things you used to be able to do and you need some help. What kind of help and how much of it you need ranges from having someone come in to clean once a week to downsizing your belongings and moving into a retirement home. In between those two extremes are a great many options; chances are you are not even aware of some of them. For example, there are not-for-profit organizations and government agencies that are devoted to providing help to senior citizens. Here are three examples of national resources:
Elder Helpers.org (help@elderhelpers.org)
Elder Helpers is a free, user-friendly, Web-based service in which volunteers offer their services to help older people. The Elder Helpers program strives to safely and conveniently connect dedicated volunteers with elders in their local communities. Services include legal help, home-delivered meals, chores, personal or respite care, disease prevention, transportation, advocacy, friendly visits, health education, minor home repairs, and recreation.
Area Agencies on Aging & Services (https://health.mo.gov/seniors/aaa/)
The federal Older Americans Act (OAA) requires all states to establish Area Agencies on Aging (AAA). Each area agency develops and implements programs for older persons at the local level. Services include legal, home-delivered meals, in-home chores, personal or respite care, disease prevention, transportation assistance, advocacy, friendly visits, health education, minor home repairs, and recreation.
National Council on Aging (NCOA) (https://www.ncoa.org/)
There are more than 2,500 benefit programs available nationwide, which cover medication, healthcare, income assistance, food and nutrition, housing and utilities, tax relief, veterans, employment, economic security, healthy living, public policy, blogs and news, getting involved, resources, fall prevention, managing the aging process, and income assistance.
More sources of support for seniors
To find them, check out the most popular search engines in the world (as of 2019):
Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, AOL, Wolframalpha, DuckDuckGo, Internet Archive
