Celebrating 40 Years of Serving Seniors

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF SERVING SENIORS

Every day, Monday through Friday, volunteers from the Mid-East Area Agency on Aging (MEAAA) spread out across St. Louis County to deliver more than 2,100 meals to home-bound seniors. Hundreds more older adults arrive each day at MEAAA’s 23 senior centers to participate in social activities, seek referrals to community services, or take part in a wide range of educational and recreational programs. As one of only 10 Area Agencies on Aging in the State of Missouri, MEAAA serves more than 40,000 adults each year in St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson and St. Charles Counties.

Since 1973, MEAAA has been providing older adults with countless opportunities to lead satisfying, healthy lives. To celebrate its four decades of service, more than 100 board members, Manchester Mayor Dave Willson, MEAAA volunteers and donors gathered at the Dog Museum in Queeny Park for a 40th Anniversary Celebration on October 17. Charles Dooley, St. Louis County Executive, issued a proclamation commending the agency for its exceptional community service for the past 40 years and declaring Thursday, October 17, 2013 as Mid-East Area Agency on Aging Day in St. Louis County.

MEAAA also honored long-time supporters Ameren and Cathy and Gary Bieg with its Champions for Seniors Corporate and Individual Awards.

“We have come a long way in 40 years,” said Mary E. Schaefer, MEAAA executive director. “Nearly one-fourth of the region’s population is now age 60 or older, and that number is growing larger every day. We exist to assist these adults through the journey of aging, with a wide range of programs and services that help them remain healthy, active, independent and productive.”

An important component of MEAAA’s services is its Meals on Wheels program. “Meals On Wheels provides much more than vital nutrition on a daily basis,” explained Schaefer. “Sometimes, the senior's only visitor for that day is our volunteer and that socialization is key for these home-bound seniors. Furthermore, according to a recent Brown University study, states that invest in home-delivered meals have found it a leading factor in reducing the number of residents that need to enter nursing homes.”

Unfortunately, she added, cutbacks in federal budgets have severely strained MEAAA’s ability to meet local demand for this service. “Sequestration reductions in federal funds and rising costs have forced us to change from providing daily hot meals to providing once a week frozen meals for some area seniors,” she explained.  “Using frozen meals stretches available funds to serve more seniors. The last thing we want to do is turn away homebound seniors who need this food.” MEAAA is hoping that individual and corporate donations will help make up some of the funding shortfall the program faces.

MEAAA also provides a wide range of supportive services for seniors and their caregivers, including  transportation services, energy and legal assistance, consumer information, disaster preparedness and assistance with acquiring medical equipment and supplies.  MEAAA staff and benefits counselors are available to help identify clients’ needs and ensure they can access all the benefits to which they are entitled.

And, MEAAA now serves as a Marketplace Navigator for the Affordable Care Act.  MEAAA navigators  are available to assist with selecting a health plan or completing an application. For more information, call 1-800-Age-6060.

In addition, MEAAA continues to sponsor the annual Boomers & Beyond Expo, one of the area’s largest and most popular senior fairs. The event, next scheduled for April 8, 2014 at Queeny Park, is a popular source of information for older adults on everything from health care, wellness programs and continuing education to finance, home repair, travel, retirement facilities, and other lifestyle activities.

After 40 years, the staff at MEAAA understands the challenges facing today’s seniors. “For many, it’s simply the fear of the unknown,” Schaefer said. “Many seniors today need to go back to work to make ends meet, but they may not know where to start or how to overcome barriers such as a lack of computer skills. For others, health concerns are foremost, so we explain how Medicare works, and we provide a range of health and fitness classes that encourages more physical activity and healthy eating.

“Our goal is to help every senior become an expert at living well,” she added.

The Mid-East Area Agency on Aging provides supportive services to persons age 60 and over, family caregivers and adults with disabilities in St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson Counties. For more information, go to www.agingmissouri.org.