Yes, you have made a difference and, because of you, Clermont County is different in the best way possible.
Since 1982, you, the voters, have seen the needs of our older citizens and have helped provide for their needs by supporting the senior services levy. This issue will come before the voters again March 19th.
For more than 26 years, Clermont Senior Services, Inc. has provided specialized services for older adults. The services have made Clermont County an enviable place to live. The senior services levy helps make these services possible.
One of these services is especially unique because it is only available in Clermont County. GAINS (Gaining Assistance in Necessary Skills) is a program for individuals who have experienced strokes. This program provides speech therapy, occupational therapy, assistance with daily living skills, and other helpful services that we could not have without the levy.
The six social centers are great places to make new friends or to get reacquainted with long lost ones, and there are many of those stories that could be told, even stories of people who have met at the centers, fallen in love and married.
What a joy it has been for me to see people having fun, learning about a variety of new things, and sharing skills and memories.
Now we have three friendship centers, where a hot meal is available five days per week, along with interesting activities, dancing lessons and fitness classes, and an emphasis on staying healthy - physically and mentally.
The caregiver support groups and the expansion of a comprehensive library of resource materials have been great help to people caught in the web of being responsible for a frail older adult, while also still working or raising their own children. Listening to those who have been helped, and who then help new members of a support group gain perspective on the day-to-day problems, could fill a whole book.
Transportation is a biggie with all older adults. Getting to the doctor, the grocery store, the bank, to visit a loved one in the hospital or nursing home, or even the hairdresser (and what a treat that is) can be a real hassle - and even worse if you have a disability. Transportation is vital, and especially for those in remote areas. The friendships that have formed riding the van to the centers and on trips helps give meaning to live.
These and other services that help older adults stay as independent as possible in their own homes have been made possible by you, a caring electorate who have faithfully supported the senior services levy since 1982. It demonstrates our heritage, that we do our good works, as we should, for the benefit of our fellow human beings. Health screenings, Meals-on-Wheels, homemaker, home health aides, home repair, Friendly Visiting and Telecare are just some of the other services that help make life a bit better for those who are homebound.
It is good to come back to tell you how your dollars have been used to make life better in Clermont County for our older citizens.
Now it is time to replace the levy passed in 1991, to assure that needed services continue to be available to as many people as possible.
I hope you share my sense of responsibility, of accountability to our older citizens, and I urge you to continue supporting the progrms that have given "life to living" for Clermont County's older citizens.
Please join me and vote for Issue 2 on March 19th.
* Milford resident Lois Brown Dale founded Clermont Senior Services in 1969, and served as director of the agency until she retired in 1991.
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