Southwest Georgia Council on Aging Executive Director Izzie Sadler offers the metaphor not so much as a warning but as a matter of fact.
“The ‘Silver Tsunami’ is real and it’s making its way here,” Sadler said.
The pending wave has nothing to do with a weather phenomenon, but has everything to do with the eye-opening statistic that, by the year 2030, one in five people in America will be over the age of 65.
“That’s not something that only the Council on Aging, the Division of Aging Services or groups who work with seniors should be concerned with,” Sadler said Monday, the day before the SOWEGA Council on Aging will host public meetings at all 14 of its senior center locations in the region. “It’s something we all should be considering: our elected officials, our medical community, businesses.
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“We’re not asking people to come to the meetings for answers, we want input. We want to know their needs. The Division of Aging Services has a four-year plan model that we follow, and we update it each year based on the issues that are discussed at these meetings. There are concerns about health care, health insurance, Medicare, dental care, diet, transportation … We want to know what those concerns are, and not just from our seniors. We want to hear from our leaders, from caregivers, from people who are disabled. The services we provide are based on the needs that are discussed.”
In the past, the SOWEGA Council on Aging has held one of the public meetings at its facilities at 335 W. Society Ave. in Albany and conducted another at one of its senior citizens in the 14-county region. This year, the agency is conducting meetings at all 14 of its centers, all starting at 10:30 Tuesday morning.
“We have 10 questions that we’re asking (attendees) to answer and submit to us,” Sadler said. “We’ll tally those to see what the greatest needs are in the region, and that will make up a big part of the four-year plan that I’m working on right now.
“But some communities may have needs that are different from the other communities in the region. That’s why we thought it best to have these meetings at all of our senior center locations. If there is a need that is specific to a community, we can adjust or tweak our plan to help meet that need. So we encourage all in the region who plan to attend one of the meetings to just go to the senior center nearest them.”
Sadler will conduct the public meeting at the Albany senior center, and the directors of the other centers will lead meetings at those locations.
“These public meetings are an opportunity for our agency to connect with our community and to hear about needs, gaps or redundancies in services, or concerns,” the SOWEGA Council on Aging director said. “The meetings are open to the public, and we encourage individuals to share information, exchange ideas, and to develop relationships and networking opportunities.”
Source: The Albany Herald