Network

Resources for Integrated Care (RIC) is hosting a panel discussion to address audience questions from a previous webinar on supporting caregivers during stressful times in isolation. The panel will discuss strategies for supporting caregivers of older adults with depression; assisting caregivers who live apart from their loved ones who need care, including those in rural areas; addressing caregiver grief; and strategies for engaging caregivers virtually.

NADTC is hosting a discussion of COVID-19’s impact on transportation service for older adults and people with disabilities. Jess Maurer of the Maine Council on Aging and Karen Boice of the Freedom Road Transportation Authority (FRT) will provide insights and findings on how the pandemic has caused volunteer driver programs to adapt their services and how the FRT has seen success in operating its program during the pandemic. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their own experiences during the conversation.

The National Council on Aging, in collaboration with the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging, is hosting a webinar on preventative interventions for late-life mental health disorders. This webinar will focus on depressive and anxiety disorders in older adults, while exploring environmental factors that affect mental wellbeing. Additionally, this webinar will address next steps in geriatric mental health prevention research and practice.

NCLER is hosting a webinar presenting strategies for legal services organizations to connect and build relationships with their local aging and disability networks with highlights from collaborative projects in North Dakota. Presenters will also give an overview of the programs and structure of the Older Americans Act. Presenters include Sarah Galvan of Justice in Aging, Michelle Gayette of the North Dakota Aging Services Division, and Richard LeMay of Legal Services of North Dakota.

Finding affordable rental housing for low-income older adults continues to be a rising problem. There are federally-funded subsidy programs older adults can enroll in to help pay for housing. Lisa Sitkin of the National Housing Law Project will provide information on challenges older adults face in securing rental housing and provide an overview of available subsidy programs.

According to a report from the ADvancing States MLTSS Institute, “By 2050, 20% of the total U.S. population will be 65 or older...The number of people age 85 or older will grow the fastest over the next few decades, constituting 4% of the population by 2050, or ten times its share in 1950." The likelihood of a person needing support with ADLs increases with age. An estimated one-third of individuals age 65 or older have some kind of functional limitation. By age 85, two-thirds will have functional limitations.” How will we accommodate for the growing aging population?

The Arc is hosting a webinar to provide information and resources about future planning for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Adults with I/DD make a better transition from the family home when a future plan is in place. Presenters will go over what future planning means; review resources designed to help individuals with I/DD and their families plan for the future; and share training opportunities for organizations interested in offering future planning supports and services to the people they serve.

SAMHSA and ACL, together with the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging, are hosting the second annual National Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day.