SUE:
It broke my heart to see Sue, my neighbor, drift away.
Sue had lived in her home alone for over 50 years before we moved in next door and we noticed she spent nearly every day in her living room and watch videos.
During the next several years we would invite her to family activities and event to interrupt her hours of solitude. In addition, I would do landscape work and other chores to save her money.
One day I was trimming her backyard trees while she sat at her patio table. We were chatting about many things until I noticed she was speaking to me like I was someone else. I developed sinking, sad feeling when I realized she was reliving an earlier chapter in her life.
It wasn’t long before her mental decline reached a point where she had to move to an assisted living facility.
When our family last visited her, she didn’t recognize us.
Just like my grandma….
Mary:
Mary is another one of our neighbor and lives across the street. She moved into the neighborhood around the same time as Sue. Her story is the opposite. Mary is full of energy and is always on the go participating in local activities and events as she has for decades. She is in her 90’s, is more engaged and busy than many people half her age. I often see her at coffee shops and driving around town.
When she needs a helping hand she will call us. If the need is for a handyman I will take care of it. If it related to her computer my son, Tyler, will come to the rescue.
One time I asked her why she maintains an active lifestyle. “I am afraid of getting old and helpless. The more active I am the better exercised my body and mind gets”, she replied.
We will share similar experiences as our parents or members of our family age. We hope their experiences are more like Mary.
A Worsening Situation:
The US census states in 20 years the size and diversity of our senior population will increase to 20% of the entire population. A report by Metlife states that local municipalities are not prepared to support this growth. This impacts programs like transportation, nutrition, exercise, health care and public housing. Surprisingly, many communities don’t have a primary resource for seniors to find information and access to local services.
Studies show that social activities and community engagement promotes physical, emotional, and cognitive health.
This is why we founded SageSource. We are committed to helping seniors maintain an active and healthy lifestyle by connecting to programs, services and people in their neighborhood. We strive to encourage and enable any senior to easily develop and maintain the active lifestyle they desire.
Making Social Change Possible
You can make a substantial difference in the lives of your aging friends, family and others in your community.
Together we can:
· Empower Seniors to connect to local neighborhood help, interests, activities, and people…when they need it
· Identify unmet needs to promote the development of potential solutions
· Help communities proactively reach out to seniors
Join us in building a vibrant, supportive community network for our seniors.
Email us at socialchange@sagesource.org
We look forward to meeting you
Sincerely,
Tyler & Steve
