Support for aging Americans is in jeopardy

On July 14, 1965, the United States Congress enacted the Older Americans Act. They did so due to a critical need across the United States to implement fundamental support for aging American citizens who did not have essential services or resources in place to effectively manage their health, daily needs, safety, and nutrition due to their age, diagnoses, or disability.

The Act aimed to help older Americans live independently and with dignity in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

Through the Act, a national network of agencies and organizations would be established to deliver vital services to the elder population to ensure they have access to healthy food, in-home modifications, transportation, and other services so they could remain in their home, in their community, and avoid transitioning to institutional care, creating an unnecessary financial burden impacting families, communities, and taxpayers.

The Act centers on the needs of Americans aged 60 and older and was intended to define and provide resources in their communities so that they could maintain their health, independence, well-being, and enable them to age with dignity.

The initial focus was on those individuals with the greatest economic or social needs but intended to provide services to all aging Americans who needed daily, weekly, or monthly support.

The Older Americans Act specifically granted funding to all states to implement community planning and social services, research and development projects, and personnel training in the field of aging. Each state was charged with establishing an Area Agency on Aging to sufficiently deliver these services and resources to adequately serve all aging community members.

LifeSpan Resources, one of 15 Area Agencies on Aging in Indiana, founded in 1974, located in New Albany and serving Floyd, Clark, Harrison and Scott counties, provides multiple services to community members including transportation, Meals on Wheels for homebound clients, wheelchair- and walker-assisted transportation, and in-home assistance to ensure residents may stay in their home and live safely and independently. We serve thousands of clients annually in these counties. With the expansion of serving not only the elderly population but the disabled population as well, our clients encompass all ages, from 1 year to over 100 years old.

Never in the history of LifeSpan Resources’ 52 years, nor the Older Americans Act in its 60 years, have services been in jeopardy like they are today. With government funding cuts at the national and state level and potential threats to cut or consolidate services, aging and disabled Hoosiers may not have the essential resources available to them that have enabled thousands of individuals before them to live a longer, healthier and more meaningful life. These individuals need the means to live safely in their home, with nutritious home-delivered meals, access to medical and clinical appointments with sufficient, safe transportation, and outlets to socialize with peers, keeping them emotionally and mentally connected to their community.

In 1965, Congress collectively realized the importance of taking care of our older community members by establishing this Act. It is unfortunate and sad that some at the government level today do not see the need to continue to provide adequate resources to men and women who have lived their lives as contributing members of society, helping to strengthen our cities and towns, educating the young, contributing to companies, providing business and clinical services to their community, and raising families.

Just as we invest in our young, we should continue to invest in our elders and not dismiss them because they have aged. They still have lots to give and those of us following behind them can learn from them.

If you respect the intended goal of the Older Americans Act and want to ensure services and resources remain intact for another 60 years or more, we encourage you to reach out to your state and U.S. senators and representatives to appeal to them to uphold the Older Americans Act by supporting Area Agencies on Aging.

The current changes we are facing are impacting our ability to care for your older and disabled loved ones and neighbors. We urgently ask you to reach out now to voice your support for the local Area Agencies on Aging.

At 2 p.m. on Monday, July 14, the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Program will host a free, virtual online rally as part of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Older Americans Act. To register, visit http://bit.ly/40b9GwK.

Meredith Lambe is the CEO of LifeSpan Resources in New Albany.

Meredith Lambe

GUEST COLUMNIST