INFORMATION AND REFERRALS:

Social service agencies, senior centers and Area Agencies on Aging are good resources for information and referrals.  Below are listed some of the various services often offered for seniors.

 Check out your local resource
and ask them about these services.

 

 

 

• Adult Day Care (all day and half day)
• Banking (many banks give seniors free checking and may also provide check writing services and other bank services)
• Bereavement Counseling
• Benefits Eligibility Screening (for local, state and federal programs such as energy assistance, pharmaceutical help, tax breaks, qualified medical beneficiary which pays for the Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-pays and others) 
• Caregiver Support Services or Caregiver Support Groups
• Carrier Alert Program (program with the local post office to notice if a senior’s mail is not taken in and notify the appropriate agency or party)
• Case Advocacy and Support  (almost anything to help or assist a senior or senior’s family from answering a question over the phone to helping a senior apply for benefits or moving them into affordable housing)
• Case Management (individual care management providers will do a wide variety of services for seniors (more resources and stronger support than case advocacy)
• Chore Housekeeping (usually state program that provides housekeeping, meal preparation and laundry assistance needed to keep the senior in their own home)
• Community Care Program (program may include case management, homemaker, adult day care and senior companion)
• Community Spousal Impoverishment Program (provides asset limit and income limit (besides house, car, personal belongings, etc. for the community spouse, if the other spouse has to go into a nursing home – SENIORS NO LONGER HAVE TO BE DESTITUTE TO GET HELP FROM PUBLIC AID FOR NURSING HOME CARE IF ONE SPOUSE REMAINS IN THE COMMUNITY – and they don’t have to “sign over their house” which is still a fear of many seniors)
• Disability Services (usually a state program to provide various services to the disabled and there may be a Center for Independent Living available)
• Discounts (seniors often are eligible for a wide variety of discounts from many businesses, stores and service providers)
• Education (many community colleges provide senior programs and discounted class fees – also senior centers often have educational programs and seminars)

• Elder Abuse/Protective Services (states have different rules for what constitutes elder abuse so check with your local senior resource – can include physical, emotional, sexual, financial or neglect or willful deprivation – may or may not include self-neglect – may include an ombudsman program for nursing home residents)

• Emergency Programs (various programs that provide short-term assistance or funds)
• Employment Counseling or Job Boards

• Foster Grandparents Program
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Groups
• Health Care (most states have some type of program to provide medical care to low-income folks who aren’t old enough for Medicare yet – remember, seniorhood starts at 55 – this can also include dental assistance)
• Health Care Insurance Program (type of state insurance coverage for people who have lost their group health insurance because of loss of spouse or loss of employment)

• Income Tax Preparation (many senior centers provide free tax preparation done by trained AARP volunteers)
• Home Repair (programs are available that do major home repair at no interest loans)
• Home Sharing Programs (matches up seniors with houses who need help to maintain their home or do chores with someone who needs housing)
• Housing Assistance Programs (can be a HUD building with subsidized rents or a voucher system)
• Individual and Family Counseling (usually on a sliding scale based on income)
• Information and Assistance (direction of where to go next and referrals)
• Legal Assistance (may include referrals to Elder Law Attorneys and guardianship information)
• License Plates and Signs for disabled drivers
• Meals on Wheels Program (meals delivered hot and ready to eat to homebound seniors)
• Multicultural Program (for specific ethnic populations – both social services and recreation)
• Nutrition Programs (besides MOWs –meals on wheels – can be noon dining at a senior center)
• Pharmaceutical Assistance (many states provide some version of pharmaceutical assistance – sometimes it requires the person’s doctor to participate which can be a problem)  NOTE:  MEDICARE PART D (PRESCRIPTION DRUG ASSISTANCE) MAY CHANGE THE STATE PROGRAM.  DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT THE STATE PROGRAM WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE. IL RESIDENTS SHOULD CHECK OUT THE SRELIGIBITY PAGE FOR THE NEW STATE LIMITS EFFECTIVE 3/2007. 
• Photo ID Cards (many states provide picture id cards for seniors who no longer drive so they can use them for identification instead of driver’s licenses)
• Public Aid – can be called by different names but a rose is a rose…..(usually will provide food stamps in some form, help with medical expenses and possibly cash)
• Real Estate Tax breaks (most states have some form of tax break for seniors)
• Respite Care (comes in many different forms from providing an actual service at an agency or nursing home to providing a person to sit with a senior for a few hours)
• Reverse Mortgage Program (a way for seniors to have additional income from their fixed asset - their house)
• Senior Centers (most communities have some sort of senior center program so check it out and see what they have available)
• Social Security
• Subsidized Housing Information
• Supplemental Security Income (federal program that augments social security to bring the senior up to a minimum figure of income)
• Telephone Assistance (may include free TDD phone – not to be confused with telephone assurance programs where the senior is called or calls in for a check in to ensure the senior is doing okay – may also include financial assistance)
• Transportation or Transportation Information (may actually run a bus service for seniors or may be able to provide you with information about municipal bus service)
• Veterans Benefits

Volunteers often provide the following services under the Agency’s supervision:

 

• Escort Transportation (give rides back and forth to medical appointments to seniors who no longer drive)
• Shopping Assistance (takes the senior shopping or goes for him or her)
• Friendly Visitor Program for homebound seniors
• Phone-A-Friend Program (for friendly visiting over the telephone)
• S.H.I.P or Medicare counseling (they review all of the hospital and doctors bills and check for errors and help with insurance counseling and forms)
• Yard Work and House Repair volunteer projects (these can range from cleaning up your yard to painting your home or putting on a new roof)
• Respite care (will sit with homebound seniors so family can get out) or may be a group situation.

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