THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, ApRil 25, 2025 Page 11 Sa nr Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller Where Solo Agers Can Find Help Dear Savvy Senior, I’m a divorced 68-year-old childless cat lady and have been thinking a lot lately about who will look after me when I get older and my health falters. What resources are available to solo seniors like me, and where can I turn to find a reliable person to be my emergency contact, as well as lookout for my health, fi - nancial matters and living arrangements in my elder years? Solo Ager Dear Solo, This is a very common concern for the 22 million solo agers across the United States who don’t have adult children or other family they can depend on to watch out for their well-being. Here are some tips and resources that can help you plan ahead. Choosing Helpers & Decision Makers While older adults who have children or are married usually name off spring or spouses as proxies/decision makers, solo agers most often choose a sibling, niece or nephew, or rely on a trusted friend or neighbor. Whomever you choose, talk to them fi rst to make sure they’re up for the task. If, however, you don’t have anyone you feel comfortable with, or who is willing to take on that responsibility, you can hire someone. One of the best resources for this is an aging life care manager. These are trained professionals in the area of geriatric care who often have backgrounds in nursing or social work and can serve as your emergency contact, oversee your care and even act as your executor. They can also connect you with professional legal and fi nancial services in your area that can help you manage your aff airs. Aging life care managers typically charge anywhere from $100 to $300 an hour, depending on their location and experience. To search for an expert near you, visit aginglifecare.org. If you can’t aff ord this, there are other reliable sources you can turn to for specifi c help. For example, if you haven’t already done so, you need to prepare a basic estate plan (including a power of attorney, advance directive and a will) to ensure your wishes are carried out if you become incapacitated and when you die. To help you prepare these documents, your best option is to hire an experienced estate planning attorney, which can cost anywhere between $500 and $2,000. He or she may also be able to act as your power of attorney or executor, or help you locate a professional in your area that can. To locate someone, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (naela.org) and National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (naepc.org) have online directories to help you search. If you need help with bill-paying there are services like SilverBills (silverbills.com), or you can work with a daily money manager (aadmm.com) who, in addition to paying bills, can handle tasks like balancing your checkbook and organizing tax information. And to help you navigate care and senior housing options there are certifi ed senior advisors (csa.us). It’s also a good idea to meet with a fi nancial adviser to help figure out what services and living arrangements you can aff ord and what steps you can take to ensure that your fi nancial resources last your lifetime. If you don’t have an adviser, you can fi nd a fee-only, fi duciary fi - nancial planner trough the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors at napfa.org. Some other helpful resources you can turn to include Aging Alone Together (dorotusa. org/agingalonetogether), a program off ered by DOROT, which is a nonprofi t social services organization that provides practical ways to help solo agers prepare for the future. They are offering a free, six-session virtual workshop (off ered weekly) via Zoom starting April 24th . Also see Navigating Solo (navigatingsolo.com), a national clearinghouse of resources for solo agers and information about solo-ager groups in the U.S. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior PROJECT | FROM PAGE 6 said at a City Council meeting in 2023. “We see risks to fl ooding in older areas of the city. If we don’t take action there could be flooding. The response is to the mutual benefi t of both communities.” On April 16, the state’s four food banks (The Greater Boston Food Bank, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Merrimack Valley Food Bank and the Worcester County Food Bank) gathered for an advocacy day for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP). Established in 1995, it is a funding mechanism for the state’s hunger-relief eff orts, enabling the food banks to distribute high-nutrition food to over 894 emergency food providers statewide. It is also considered an economic stimulant that supports local farms and agriculture. The event celebrated 30 years of the program and called for a $55.5 million line item in the Fiscal 2026 state budget to help maintain the state’s hunger-relief efforts, positioned as a “replacement mechanism” after $3.3 million in federal Department of Agriculture funds have been cut from the state’s food system, eff ectively canceling 122,000 cases of food slated for families in need. Meanwhile, threats to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) loom alongside high grocery prices and infl ation. DiDomenico attended. “We all know what’s happening at the national level is an assault, an assault on people in need,” he said. “There’s an assault on programs that benefi t people in need, and food science programs and SNAP. These have been on their radar since day one and, because of that, we have to prepare even more and give more at the state level to combat what is happening at the federal level. So, the $55.5 million ask for MEFAP this year is, in my mind, very reasonable.” EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS JOB FAIR For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net
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