Thank you to everyone who joined us for another successful event! We hosted 200 community members, the PA Secretary of Aging and several local legislators and aides to discuss issues facing seniors in the state. Community members were able to network, hear from the Secretary and legislators and ask questions of the panel. Topics discussed were support for Alzheimer patients, use of lottery fund dollars and how we will encourage the use of community based supportive services. We are looking forward to seeing our advocacy in action as legislators work to improve the lives of seniors.
Honoring Donna Zimmerman
Donna M. Zimmerman will be retiring at the end of this month from her position as the Executive Director of the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services. We honored Donna Zimmerman at the United Way Legislative Breakfast and presented her with an award for her dedication to the United Way Alliance on Aging, including serving on the founding team and the Steering committee since its inception. Thank you to Donna for making the Lehigh Valley a better place to live.
Benefits for Seniors
A national study by the National Council on Aging showed that $31M in federal, state and local benefits go uncollected in the Lehigh Valley every year by seniors who could be accessing valuable programs to pay for needed services. Across the country, seniors go hungry while they could qualify for food through the SNAP program. United Way funds three important programs that can help seniors get the benefits they deserve.
PA Benefit Center is a phone service that can sign seniors up for PACE/PACENET, Property Tax and Rent Rebate, Medicare Extra HELP, LIHEAP and SNAP/Food Stamps right over the phone. To apply, just call 866.273.0598 Monday-Friday from 9 AM - 5 PM.
The BenefitsCheckUp! Program at Jewish Family Services is another valuable program that uses volunteers from the community to walk seniors through a simple 8-minute screener to identify all the federal, state and local benefits they could be receiving. To set up an in-person appointment with a volunteer, call Eva Buck at 610.821.8722.
Catholic Charities is the third program and they do intensive case management with benefit help. If you have a complicated issue and would prefer individual case management, call Heather Strohm at 610.435.1541 x 311.
National Gatekeeper Conference
The United Way Alliance on Aging is proud to have been honored as one of the top four Gatekeeper programs in the country at the National Gatekeeper Conference in Middletown, CT on May 13, 2015. We presented our variation of the original Gatekeeper program model, redesigned to work within the United Way framework. The other members of the panel included the state-wide Connecticut model, the original Gatekeeper model from Spokane, Washington and the SeniorReach program in Boulder, Colorado. We also got to hear many exciting speakers, including Dr. Tolin, the lead hoarding psychologist in the country, talking about his consultation to the TV show, "Hoarders" and giving real life suggestions applicable to our work. We learned a great deal and are excited to bring best practices from around the country back to the Lehigh Valley.
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About United Way's Alliance on Aging
Membership to United Way's Alliance on Aging is free and member benefits include conferences, research, information and referral services, benefit acquisition services, public policy advocacy and learning sessions throughout the year.
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