Getting older isn’t for wimps. As we age, we’re faced with a host of new challenges and choices, many of which we may not anticipate. Luckily, resources are available to help.
The Senior Living Truth Seminar is one such resource. It’s a once-a-month talk held at Laura’s Library (on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m.), sponsored by the Austin Senior Resource Alliance. These talks feature a panel of experts and explore a variety of topics relevant to seniors and their families. For instance, if you’re wondering how to declutter your home or what kind of senior living options are available or even what kinds of discounts you might be able to enjoy, you’ll find these talks helpful.
If you’re unable to attend, the sessions are filmed, so you can view the discussions anytime on the library’s YouTube page.
Earlier this month, the Austin Senior Resource Alliance presented a seminar called “Aging in Place and Staying Put.” This talk was geared toward people who would like to continue living in their own homes as they age, rather than moving to a senior living community.
The 90-minute discussion featured a panel of experts: Julie Latson from Accountable Aging; Shannon Alexander, owner and director of Mr. Handyman of South Austin/Lakeway; and Ray Daniel, a reverse mortgage specialist. These experts covered everything from home healthcare options and safety upgrades to financing it all.
Moderating the discussion was Cyndi Cummings, founder of Austin Senior Resource Alliance.
“As seniors are making changes in their lives, they need to connect with lots of different people,” Cumming said. “We made this alliance specifically for that purpose.”
There are a multitude of decisions to make as we get older. While some seniors do choose to age in place, others decide for various reasons to move into senior living facilities. For those people, the variety of homes available can be overwhelming. Luckily, the Austin Senior Resource Alliance has just started offering bus tours in which they take a group of seniors to visit senior living facilities in different parts of the city. Last month, they toured three facilities in Lakeway. Next month, they’ll visit senior living options in Central Austin. A tour is scheduled to South Austin in May and another to Cedar Park in October.
Polly and Clovis Womack went on the bus tour last month, and they plan to attend the next two as well. They said these tours are very helpful because they allow seniors to easily compare the facilities and ask questions. “You wouldn’t be able to do this on your own,” Polly Womack said.
The Womacks have been coming to the Senior Living Talks at Laura’s Library for the past year and a half, and they said that Cummings and her marketing manager Natalie Harris are “both so upbeat and welcoming to everyone.” Plus, the location of Laura’s Library is convenient and beautiful, and the Q&A session at the end of each talk is a great chance to ask professionals any questions they have.
They also noted that they tend to see a lot of the same people attending each month’s talk – some of them neighbors.
Local resident Nancy St. Aubyn has been attending the senior seminars for the past two years and said she finds useful tips every time she attends, especially in the handouts. “I would recommend the talks because they answer a lot of questions that seniors have,” she said.
The Womacks said they’re trying to get information and make decisions now to “make everything easier for the one who’s left.” When it comes time to make these decisions, Polly Womack said, “there are so many emotions involved.”
“If we have an event, we’re going to need help,” she said. Having contact information for professionals they trust and knowing their options ahead of time give them peace of mind, she said, and “that’s worth a lot.”
Maureen Turner Carey is a public service and PR librarian at the Westbank Community Library District.
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