Cities Bridging Gap Between Isolated, Active Older Residents
July 2nd, 2008, 11:05 pm Hobbies Ideas
Many seniors are enjoying life in their golden years - Hobbies Ideas visiting family, taking up hobbies and hanging out with friends.
Depending on the cards they’re dealt, many seniors also face health problems, transportation obstacles, financial struggles and boredom. And some live in the dark - isolated, confused and unable to care for themselves. Sometimes they can barely afford to live in Silicon Valley, much less lead a fulfilling life.
Fortunately,Hobbies Ideas cities such as Sunnyvale and Cupertino have hired case managers who help seniors navigate lives that seem to get more complicated as they become less capable of managing it.
“We help seniors find resources so they can be safe and independent in their own home,” says Karen Goss, the Cupertino case manager who works out of the Cupertino Senior Center.
”I want to do my own thing,” says Irene Tsai, 75, while reading a newspaper at the Sunnyvale Senior Center. She plans to lean on friends and family for help so she can stay in her own home as long as possible.
Yet, without a spouse or other dedicated caretaker (a professional can cost $20 per hour), seniors who stay alone in their homes are at risk of depression. Seniors make up the highest proportion of suicides in the United States.
The seniors who are healthy enough or have the resources to hang out and socialize at the Sunnyvale Senior Center can sympathize with their homebound peers, yet they don’t completely understand the need for a case manager.
“There’s a lot of rich people here, but I think there’s a lot more poor people,”Hobbies Ideas says Dick Myers, 86, a Sunnyvale resident who came down to shoot pool at the Sunnyvale center. He’s a longtime homeowner. He doesn’t have very good health, Hobbies Ideas but has good health insurance.
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