An inevitable part of life is watching our parents and loved ones getting older. Most of us want to keep them in their own homes with as much freedom as possible. This can be difficult if you try to help them do it alone.
There are many organizations and options to help you do this. These can be local, state, or even federal programs that offer different benefits ranging from nutrition to money management.
You could even consider recruiting the help of an in-home senior caregiver. Installing emergency buttons in your loved ones home could be another option.
Where do you look for these resources though? That’s why we’ve compiled this list of seven resources to help your loved one that’s aging at home.
Meals on Wheels
This is a program found in nearly every part of the country. Meals on Wheels has over 5,000 independently operated locations throughout the country. Each one focused on addressing the needs of their local community.
They are most known for delivering healthy meals to the home of registered seniors. Most seniors with low incomes can get put into this program for free. Others who don’t fall into this category typically depend on their income for the amount they pay, usually up to $5.
The Meals on Wheels organization here in Upland also offers transportation services to doctors’ offices, grocery stores, or even just to the hair salon. They also offer a memory care center that helps care for seniors afflicted with dementia.
Veterans Affairs
Senior veterans can use the VA’s several different resources to help with long term health care. These resources include educational articles covering a variety of topics like brain health and cognitive decline.
They also have resources to educate you about possibly monthly payments from the VA if your disability is service-related. They also remind you that these payments are not automatically granted and you must apply for them. They are more than happy to help if you need help applying too.
They also offer a variety of services to council you on benefits you are eligible for, and health insurance counseling. They can also help you plan for your long term care whether with their services or not.
National Institute on Aging
This organization is a part of the National Institute of Health, focused on studying the aging process. Their website is full of helpful articles meant to help you understand many of the health issues affecting your parents or loved ones. Like these covering heart health topics like heart attacks, and keeping your heart healthy.
They even have articles about caregiving designed specifically with you in mind. These articles can help you plan long term care, or even how to cope with caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s.
AARP
AARP provides numerous resources for seniors. These include but are not limited to information on social security benefits, a current list of scams targeting seniors, and money management resources.
You can join with a year membership for around $12. AARP offers it’s paying member discounts on a variety of services including auto services, home services, and more.
Life Alert
Life alert and other similar services can give you peace of mind when your loved one is home alone. These services offer a button that can be worn around the neck. If your parent or loved one falls and can’t get up, the button can be activated and they will be connected to a dispatcher that can send for emergency services.
Many of these programs offer bathroom buttons and a mobile program as well. These can be good resources if you can’t always have someone at your loved ones’ home while they age in place.
Gibson Senior Center
Located here in Upland, CA this senior center provides a nutritious lunch five days a week. They also provide seniors 50 and older with recreational activities to keep them active. This is also a great way for your loved ones to have some form of social interaction with their peers.
They offer over 40 different activities throughout the week with more than half of those being free of charge. These include men’s poker, computer classes, billiard tournaments, and yoga.
They also offer services such as free noninvasive health screenings, health insurance counseling, and free fall flu shot clinics.
In-Home Senior Care for Aging at Home
An in-home caregiver can give you the help you need during times when you can’t be there for your loved ones. A caregiver will perform light cleaning duties like dusting, vacuuming, dishes, or light laundry. They can also perform light personal care like education reminders, bathing monitoring, and grooming monitoring.
A caregiver can also help with running errands like picking up prescriptions, grocery shopping, driving to church services, driving them to visit family.
We even offer overnight services, our caregivers stay awake overnight and help prepare breakfast in the morning. You can find our full list of services here.
Let Us Help You
We hope that these resources can help you while your parents or loved ones are aging at home. We hope you will remember to share this article on social media with your friends and family.
We are here to help you with all of your in-home senior care needs. Please take a look at our other helpful articles on our blog. Reach out to us here so we can get to know you and your situation with no pressure to commit to us and our services.
Aging at Home
