Are you a senior looking for helpful resources? Or a family member looking for help for a beloved relative? Or, perhaps, a social worker hoping to help a client? Help is on the way. The Senior Yellow Pages, Local and State Services for Seniors in this area, will educate seniors and their families about the pertinent resources in our community. In early fall 2016, the first edition of the manual will be released. And it will be free of charge. Gateway Seniors, an affiliate of the Center on Aging, University of Maine, will be offering the Senior Yellow Pages without cost to community members and their families as well as to social service agencies.

The Senior Yellow Pages has been under production for more than 2 years. Although it was developed by Gateway Seniors Without Walls, varied people and organizations have contributed. Staff and social work students at the Center on Aging, University of Maine have been involved from the beginning. Community agencies working on the Moov Penobscot Thriving in Place Grant, led by Dyan Walsh, the Executive Director of the Eastern Area Agency on Agency, were also instrumental. Health students at the University of Maine, Orono played a role in getting the project off the ground.

This 220-plus page manual is a must-have for seniors and anyone who cares about them. In big 14 pitch type, local and state services for seniors in 16 towns of Greater Bangor are listed and described under pertinent categories. Among the more than 80 categories are Abuse and Fraud; Bill Paying; Budgeting, Money Management; Companionship; Consumer Issues; Dementia Care; Educational Opportunities; Eye Care; Food and Meals Programs; Funeral Arrangements; Geriatric Services; Housing for Seniors; Long-Term Health Care and Insurance; Nursing Homes; Organizing Services; Sleep Problems; Transportation; and Volunteering Opportunities. Within each category, services are listed and described. Each service entry contains contact information. Throughout the manual there are discussions of complex topics such as Palliative care, Home Health Care, and Legal Resources. A Table of Contents and Index make the Senior Yellow Pages relatively easy to use.

The manual is the brainchild of Gateway Seniors Without Walls that came about after the group conducted focus groups in 2013 to find out more about community needs. Again and again people voiced confusion about what services were available within our community and expressed the hope that Gateway Seniors would work on remedying that problem.

The Senior Yellow Pages had been widely praised by social service agencies: Examples: “I just finished going through your wonderful Senior Yellow Pages for edits and, I must say, you have done some incredible work!! Kudos!” “This will be a great resource for the area.”

Pick up a copy of the Senior Yellow Pages this fall at social service agencies, libraries, and town offices throughout the greater Bangor area. You may reserve a copy by calling the Eastern Area Agency on Aging and speaking to Karyn: (207) 941-2865. For additional information, call Ann Davidoff at (207) 866-8641.


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