There are a large number of seniors in the United States, and the number is only going to continue to rise. There were 39.6 million individuals over the age of 65 in 2009, and this number is expected to increase to 72.1 million – or 19% of the U.S. population by 2030 – according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
The Western Edition spoke with a few of the many local nonprofits focusing on seniors and issues around aging to try to get some specific information on what they do and what makes them special and unique.
Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association works to provide awareness of the disease, which is a type of dementia that causes seniors – and sometimes even people who are in their 40s and 50s – to experience problems with memory, thinking and behavior.
Specifically, the association provides research, advocacy, patient and family services and education surrounding Alzheimer’s, according to Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph. D., the chief program officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, Northern California & Northern Nevada.
“We are the experts on Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s-related dementia,” Edgerly said. “This is all we do. If we don’t know [the answer], we know people who know it.” Alzheimer’s Association has a 24-hour help line that people can call for information, referrals and education.
The association provides people with Alzheimer’s and their families with weekly support groups. “It is such a devastating disease,” noted Edgerly. “It really affects the entire family.” It also provides monthly support groups for care providers of people with Alzheimer’s. “There are quite a few [support groups] to choose from, which is nice,” Edgerly explained.
Alzheimer’s Association holds fundraisers such as the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. “We use that as an opportunity to engage people in the movement,” Edgerly said. The next walk in San Francisco will take place at Mission Creek Park on Sept. 29. Another walk also will be held in San Jose at the Arena Green on Oct. 20. “We have them all over Northern California,” Edgerly said.
The Alzheimer’s Association longs for the day when the disease is eradicated, but until then, it will continue to focus on its work.
One of the challenges with Alzheimer’s is that people think what they’re experiencing, or what a loved one is experiencing, is just part of the aging process – a “senior moment” – instead of a disease, Edgerly pointed out. “Their definition of a senior moment is pretty liberal,” she noted.
Currently, 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and that figure is expected to reach 16 million by mid-century, according to Edgerly. One in eight older Americans has the disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that can’t be prevented, cured or slowed, according to the association’s website.
More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care valued at $210 billion for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, whereas payments for care are estimated to be $200 billion in the U.S. this year, as described on the website.
For more information about the Alzheimer’s Association, visit www.alz.org/norcal, or call 800.272.3900.
Family Caregiver Alliance
The first organization in the nation to focus on the caregiver is the Family Caregiver Alliance – FCA – located at 785 Market St., Ste. 750 in San Francisco.
This organization works to raise awareness of caregivers and the issues they face. “They need someone to help them and support them,” explained Leah Eskenazi, director of operations and planning for FCA. “They can’t do it alone.”
One issue FCA addresses is ensuring that caregivers take care of themselves. Because they are always taking care of other people, caregivers can put their own needs on the back burner, and they can get so exhausted from their work that their own health can suffer.
“Research shows that when caregivers care for someone else their own health is at risk,” explained Eskenazi. She added, “Our whole focus is how we keep the caregiver well – the caregiver is the backbone of long-term care.”
FCA works to provide caregivers with respite, so that they can take a break or go on vacation, giving them a much-needed opportunity to recharge their batteries.
Additionally, FCA provides information on how to care for someone with dementia. It also provides support for caregivers, including family meetings and counseling.
FCA advocates on caregivers’ behalf. It works with the National Center on Caregiving to include caregivers in national policy.
The organization was selected by Philanthropedia as one of the top nonprofits in aging in 2011. FCA was started by three caregivers who were determined to do something because they were not being acknowledged, according to Eskenazi. “They were exhausted,” she said. “No one was thinking of the caregiver. They were thinking of the care receiver.”The organization worked with the former mayor of San Francisco, Art Agnos, to get some legislation passed to form the first resource center in the state that is now a model nationwide. The FAQ at FCA’s website – which has experienced 20 percent growth yearly and currently receives more than 10,000 hits each month – provides a wealth of information for caregivers. “A lot of people look for our fact sheet,” said Eskenazi. “People can find out about resources in their state.”
For more information about the Family Caregiver Alliance, visit www.caregiver.org, send an email to info@caregiver.org, or call 415. 434.3388.
Civic Ventures
Civic Ventures, headquartered in San Francisco at 114 Sansome St., Ste. 850, is “a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose,” according to Stefanie Weiss, VP for communications.
“We think this is the right time to create [the term for] a new stage of life, just as ‘adolescence’ was created 100 years ago,” commented Weiss. “The new stage – the encore years – falls after midlife and includes the impulse to give back and create a better world for future generations. We want to make it easier for people in this stage of life to find purpose and to contribute to the greater good.”
The organization’s Encore Careers campaign represents a growing group of people who want work that matters in the second half of their lives. It provides advice, resources, news and connections for both individuals and corporations in the area of “encore careers.”
“Civic Ventures’ Encore Careers campaign aims to engage millions of people in encore careers – combining personal meaning, continued income and social impact – to produce a windfall of talent to solve society’s greatest problems,” explained Weiss.
According to Weiss, Civic Ventures also promotes the Purpose Prize – an awards program for social innovators who are older than 60 years old. “Each year, five people win $100,000 each to further their work solving serious social problems, here and abroad,” she noted.
Civic Ventures also launched the Encore Fellowships Network. “Encore Fellowships are designed to deliver new sources of talent to organizations solving critical social problems,” Weiss explained. “These paid, time-limited fellowships match skilled, experienced professionals at the end of their midlife careers with social-purpose organizations.”
Civic Ventures was founded in 1998 by social entrepreneur and author Marc Freedman. For more information about Civic Ventures, visit the website at www.encore.org, call 415.430.0141, or send an email info@encore.org.
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
Starting in the 1980s as Bay Area Advocates for Nursing Homes, this organization focused primarily on nursing homes. However, today the organization is known as California Advocates for Nursing Reform – CANHR – and focuses on most aspects of long-term care, according to Executive Director Patricia McGinnis.
Headquartered in San Francisco at 650 Harrison St. on the second floor, CANHR has a Lawyer Referral Services –LRS – program that refers people to attorneys when it comes to estate planning and physical and financial abuse of the elderly.
According to CANHR’s website, LRS is certified by the State Bar of California, using rigorous screening requirements to select highly qualified and experienced elder law attorneys.
CANHR also works to put on symposiums around the state on the overuse of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes. Additionally, CANHR puts on workshops for social workers.
CANHR doesn’t receive any financial assistance from the government, according to McGinnis. Rather, it receives money from foundations and grants, as well as from fees from sources such as its lawyer referral service.
The CANHR website at www.canhr.org has a Nursing Home Guide with a database of at least 1,300 nursing homes in California. Searches can be made by name, address, city or county, and details can be found for types of services and staffing, as well as for violations. The site receives about 40,000 hits every month.
McGinnis estimated that CANHR receives about 150 email requests and 100 phone calls daily. “We get a lot of emails and telephone calls for assistance,” she said.
CANHR has nine staff in San Francisco, as well as two in Pasadena, according to McGinnis.
For more information about CANHR, visit the website at www.canhr.org, call 415.974.5171 Ext. 8232, or call 800.474.1116.
