A major justice and vulnerability issue...elderly poor and handicapped...very hard to make transistion without a great deal of help.
As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid Link with some excerpts below http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05elderly.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&adxnnlx=1215274682-g6PsJEOVmNIo4lPJaC2Puw <<Mrs. Fair, who has limited mobility because of diabetes, lives on $642 per month in Social Security widow’s benefits, and relies on care from her son, who often works odd hours, especially during blueberry season. “He says, ‘You belong in a nursing home; I can’t take care of you,’ ” Mrs. Fair said. The delivered meals allowed her to eat at regular hours, which helped her control her blood sugar levels, she said. Last year she lost her balance during a change in blood sugar and spent a month in a nursing home. With no meal delivery in her area, Mrs. Fair said her home aide, who comes three times a week, must pick up frozen meals from a center in the next town. “If my aide can’t get the meals, maybe I can get my pastor to pick them up,” Mrs. Fair said. “I can’t travel even to the drop-off center.” Agencies say they are facing a shortage of home aides, because the jobs have low pay and often require long drives for a few hours of work. “They can’t make any money,” said Laurence Schmidt, administrator for the Oswego County Office for the Aging, in rural northwest New York. “So they’ll get jobs in nursing homes, where they can drive to one place and work a full shift. That is a statewide problem.”>>> _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
