SilverSource deserves gold medal for work with seniors
Curveballs, I always had a hard time hitting them. I imagine that now, in the latter half of my 40s, the chances of me hitting one are about the same as my likelihood of winning Powerball or of me turning down a morning cup of coffee (which is to say extremely low). I can’t swing nearly as fast as I could when I was younger. And my eyesight, well, let’s just say I don’t see as good as I used to. No, I probably couldn’t hit a curveball at fortyseven, but hitting curveballs is exactly what so many of our community's seniors must do every single day. No, I’m not referring to a senior hardball league — I’m talking about the significant challenges a growing number of our seniors face daily.
Housing Instability
Housing stability was a primary concern for many seniors before the pandemic. Now that the federal eviction moratorium, which was intended to prevent renters from losing their homes during the pandemic, has expired, our seniors are once again vulnerable to homelessness. There’s back rent to pay as well as balances on utility bills. It’s easy to judge them and think: “Well, they should have planned better,” but it’s hard to anticipate how the sudden death of a spouse can impact your finances later in life. And who among us could foresee having to deplete our retirement funds to cover medical treatments? No, housing instability is not always the result of poor decisions — it’s often the result of the curveballs that life throws at us. Thankfully, there are organizations such as SilverSource that help our community’s seniors learn how to hit them.
Among other things, SilverSource works to help secure safe, stable homes for seniors and provides financial support for prescriptions, hearing aids, home care, and medical safety equipment. Additionally, the organization’s outreach programs touch the lives of hundreds of older residents each month, creating critical connections through group meetings at senior housing sites and adult day programs, and visits to homebound and hospitalized older neighbors.
Addressing Emotional Vulnerability
For so many of us, asking for help isn’t easy and it’s that much harder for our seniors who are anxious about whether they will be judged when they admit that they can no longer afford their living expenses. Many are embarrassed at the situation they’ve found themselves in and often must get creative when covering their rent or mortgage, utilities, and other living expenses including food and insurance. This creativity, which often leads to “Robbing Peter to pay Paul,” can result in mounting debt. As such, our seniors, who are physically vulnerable due to health issues, growing frailty, and poor living conditions, now must make themselves emotionally vulnerable and admit that they need help — and that’s a hurdle that is hard to jump.
I recently sat down with Allison Heim, LCSW, director of Social Work at SilverSource, who told me, “We know that seniors are anxious and often uneasy when they come to us. That’s why it’s critically important to create an environment where seniors can feel comfortable asking for help.”
Shaping a Self-Sustaining Future
SilverSource’s mission doesn’t end with housing stability; the organization seeks to help seniors become more independent. While helping cover rent and utilities can change someone’s life in the short-term, it’s not a long-term strategy.
SilverSource helps seniors get to a more self-sustaining place by helping them with expense planning as well as making sure they have the right tools for living independently. For example, in addition to implementing personal safety measures, helping someone acquire hearing aids or the right prescription for eyeglasses can help a senior get back into the workplace. Helping seniors apply for a government sponsored phone can provide an affordable lifeline to friends, family, and services — all of which can have a positive impact on their emotional state. Furthermore, the organization asks clients to show that they’ve been trying to save money and budget their finances and provides counseling on doing so — so they can be better prepared for hitting future curveballs in later innings.
Bringing Home Gold
According to the Census Bureau, the age group 85 and older is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. Longer life spans and aging baby boomers will combine to double the population of Americans aged 65 and older from 2000 to 2030. In 2030, persons aged 65 and older will comprise 20 percent of the U.S. population. Organizations such as SilverSource will become exponentially important to help this growing part of the population age with excellence. Having closed 416 housing stability cases last year and having filled more than 1,800 prescriptions and delivered 250,000 meals already this year, SilverSource deserves a gold medal in Stamford’s community service Olympics.