Senior Advocate: Free seminar on housing options set for Feb. 10
Jan
29
Written by:
1/29/2009 2:24 PM
By Betty Berry
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Q: I am planning to bring my mother here to Thousand Oaks and beginning to look at various types of housing and frankly I am most confused. Is there any one place I can go to get this information?
A: Housing is a very complex subject. It is more than a place to live. Consideration must be given to cost as well as whether the person seeking housing can live independently or if some type of assistance is needed.
There are several organizations that work with housing needs, but each is geared to a particular type of housing.
To get a good bird’s-eye view, I think you might want to mark your calendar for the next Solving the Aging Puzzle seminar offered by Senior Concerns.
The presentation Housing — Knowing Your Options is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Senior Concerns Adult Day Center, 401 Hodencamp Road, Thousand Oaks.
This will be a panel presentation with Doug Tapking, executive director of the Area Housing Authority, providing information on low-income housing, affordable housing and federal housing programs.
Marianne Knight, owner of California Senior Living, will address senior housing options, which will include information on independent and assisted-living facilities.
The panel will be rounded out by Lorine Stoikowitz, from Gentle Transitions, a service that is a creative and compassionate approach to ease the moving and transition process of setting up a new home in a new environment.
For reservations and information, call Terry at 497-0189. Reservations are strongly suggested and should be made by Feb. 10, but walk-in attendees are always welcome.
If you are a caregiver for a special needs senior and require respite care while attending the presentation, that care is available at the center and must be arranged for when you make your reservations.
The Solving the Aging Puzzle series will continue in March with Estate Planning and will conclude in April with Financial Planning. All presentations are on the second Tuesday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
There are no fees for these unbiased informational discussions and at each presentation there is time for questions from the audience.
This educational series is funded in part through a grant from the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging.
Q: My elderly aunt lives out of state and is not in the best of health. I would like to assist her in getting the services she needs, but don’t know what is available in her community. Do you know of any way to get that type of information?
A: Many families who have faced the situation you describe have found the help they needed through the Eldercare Locator.
It is a nationwide directory assistance service designed to help seniors and their caregivers locate needed local support resources. The service links the caller with the information and referral networks of state and local Area Agencies on Aging.
The locator will be able to provide organization names and telephone numbers so you may contact them directly. It is available from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday. The toll-free number is 800-677-1116. Be prepared to provide the county and city name or ZIP code for the senior you are assisting and a brief description of the problem you are trying to resolve.
Happening: Feb. 4 — All-day program presented by the Senior Congress, called Thanks for the Memory — Understand It, Care for It, Improve It, 9:30 to 2:30 at St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic Church, 5801 Kanan Road, Westlake Village. Free lunch is included in the day’s activities. For reservations, call 818-880-1054 (don’t forget!).
— Betty Berry is a senior advocate for Senior Concerns. The advocates are at the Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362; or call 495-6250. You are invited to submit questions on senior issues.