You, too, can be an elder advocate

Dear Geezer,

I’ve been reading your columns for about six months, so maybe you wrote earlier about this question:  What is “Elder Advocates” about?  I see by your contact information that you are connected with it, but I don’t know anything about it.

John

Dear John,

Yes, I did write about Elder Advocates one time about 16 months ago. So your asking about this work now gives me a chance to share what I do, but also invite you to help with one project I have “perking.”

Elder Advocates is a ministry I created almost five years ago to extend my work with elders and their families after I left the formal environment of geriatric social work. The work emphasizes three things:  consulting, teaching, and advocacy.   

I consult with persons and families who seek direction through the maze of elder care. It is a complicated maze of medical, legal, and emotional twists, turns, and barriers. Part of my task is to offer persons some insights so they can know what to expect  as (for example) “mom” finds it difficult to live at home without assistance any more.

I provide workshops that cover a variety of age-related topics:  the “elder maze,” healthy humor to get you through the rougher times, self-care in the midst of caring for a family member, transition issues before and during retirement.

Elder advocacy — speaking or acting on behalf of older adults — is the third emphasis of my work. Advocacy can happen formally, as in helping to create a service like DayBreak Center (for persons with dementia and their families). Working with other elder care professionals to offer the community better awareness and access to aging services is advocacy.

Advocacy can be an informal power as well. And here is where I need your help, John. I envision developing a group of volunteer “elder advocates,” persons who would become better educated on the dynamics of aging, the needs of older adults, and the resources to meet those needs.

These elder advocates would become better informed friends of older adults who could either direct their friends in healthy directions for answers, or even speak up on their behalf when those aging friends are befuddled.

If you were interested in becoming a volunteer Elder Advocate, what would you need to know to feel confident that you could advocate most effectively?  Please let me know.   

    P.S. This invitation is not for John alone. If you have the same interest, please let me know. I would very much like to talk with you.

Paul R. Graves, M.Div., is founder of Elder Advocates, Inc., a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact him at elderadvocates@nctv.com or (208) 610-4971.