a enioroioiavvy Senior avvyvy avyvy Dear Need, Providing care and support for an aging parent who lives far away can present a variety of challenges that can make the job diffi cult and stressful. Here are some tips and resources that may help you. Long-Distance Caregiving When it comes to monitoring and caring for an aging parent from afar, you have a couple of options. You can hire a professional to oversee your mom’s needs, or you can manage things yourself by building a support system, tapping into available resources, and utilizing technology devices that can help you keep tabs on her. If your mom needs a lot of help, you should consider hiring a geriatric care manager who will give her a thorough assessment to identify her needs and will set up and manage all aspects of her care. But geriatric care managers are expensive typically charging between $100 and $250 per hour after an initial assessment of $150 to $750 and are not covered by Medicare. To fi nd a geriatric care manager in your mom’s area, visit AgingLifeCare.org or contact the nearest Area Agency on Aging (call 800677-1116) to see if they have a list of providers. If, however, your mom only needs occasional help, or if you can’t aff ord to use a care manager, here are some things you can do yourself to help her. Create a care team: Put together a network of people (nearby friends or family, neighbors, clergy, etc.) who can check on your mom regularly, and who you can call on from time to time for occasional help. Also put together a list of reliable services you can call for household needs like lawn care, handyman services, plumber, etc. Tap local resources: Most communities offer a range of free or subsidized services that can help seniors with basic needs such as home delivered meals, transportation, senior companion services and more. Contact ennioorn rniiori Tips for Being a Long-Distance Caregiver Dear Savvy Senior, What tips do you recommend for long-distance caregivers? I help take care of my stubborn 86-year-old mother who still lives at home about 150 miles from me. Need Advice the nearby Area Aging Agency to fi nd out what’s available. Use financial tools: If your mom needs help with her fi nancial chores, arrange for direct deposit for her income sources, and set up automatic payments for her utilities and other routine bills. You can also set up her online banking service, so you can pay bills and monitor her account anytime. Or, if you need help, hire a daily money manager (AADMM. com) to do it for you. They charge between $25 and $100 per hour. Check essential documents: This is also a good time to make sure your mom has the following essential legal documents: a will; a living will and health-care proxy, which allows you to make medical decisions on her behalf if she became incapacitated; and a durable power of attorney, which gives you similar legal authority for fi nancial decisions, if needed. If she doesn’t have these documents prepared, now is the time to make them. And if they are prepared, make sure they’re updated and know where they are located. Hire in-home help: Depending on your mom’s needs, you may need to hire a part-time home-care aide that can help with things like preparing meals, housekeeping or personal care. Costs can run anywhere from $12 up to $25 per hour. To fi nd someone, try websites like Care.com or CareLinx.com. Utilize technology: To help you keep tabs on your mom from afar, there are various technologies that can help. For example, there are medical alert systems, video camera monitors, wearable activity trackers, and electronic pill boxes that can notify you if she has taken her medications. And to help you coordinate her care with members of her care team there are websites like LotsAHelpingHands.com. For more tips, call the National Institute on Aging at 800-2222225 and order their free booklet “Long-Distance Caregiving: Twenty Questions and Answers.” 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. THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, DECEmbER 16, 2022 ZBA | FROM Page 1 Page 19 was once a swimming pool located there. “To me, in my eyes, that makes no sense,” said Carvagnaro. The building commissioner said he had spoken with neighbors, 45 of whom signed a petition opposing Zepai’s plan, about concerns about drainage, flooding, traffic and parking. Carvagnaro said a single-family house would not make a diff erence in either drainage or traffi c. And he said the house would bring new tax revenue to the city. Carvagnaro also addressed the size of the lot, which neighbors felt was too small for a house. He listed a number of neighboring properties which were a similar size or smaller. Ward 5 Councillor John Powers, who represents the neighborhood, opposed Zepai’s application. “I’m here tonight to ask for your help,” he told the board, “asking for the people of Revere for your help.” Powers said to allow a house to be built on a 3000-square-foot lot in the city is ludicrous. “It just shouldn’t happen,” he said. Powers also said he had been in the neighborhood when there was fl ooding on Sewall Street. “The water was four, fi ve, six inches deep. Now we’re looking to what? Make it a little worse?” he asked the board. Powers said the people in the neighborhood are hard-working people who pay their taxes. “They need your help,” he stressed. Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna also spoke in opposition to Zepai. McKenna said she has been trying to help Sewall Street residents with fl ooding issues for years. “And now they are having sewerage problems because of the water,” she said. McKenna said if you pave over a green space with grass, you’ll have more water. “If we open a can of worms, every single small lot that is non buildable will become buildable because we allowed someone to build,” she said. John Stamatopoulos, who lives at 15 Sewall St., said the neighborhood is densely settled and the lot Zepai wants to use for parking, a side yard, is the only green space on the street where drainage is an issue. Stamatopoulos also said the city’s building code states that no construction is allowed after 1994 on a lot that had prior structures, including pools or decks. “According to the city’s code, this lot is not buildable,” he said. “If we’re not going to follow the codes, why do we have them?” John Powers of 4 Sewall St. said he thought the fact that Zepai’s request ran up against city codes would put an end to the plan. He also described the lot Zepai wants to develop as undersized. Powers acknowledged that other houses are on similar sized lots but added that the infrastructure underneath, particularly water pipes, has not kept up with the growth. He said if the building continues it could lead to a public safety problem. “We’re all from Revere,” Powers told the board. “When you’re on your way home tonight look to your left and to your right. If you see a big, long yard take a good look at it because it could be a house tomorrow.” ZBA Chairman Michael Tucker said offi cials had been discussing Zepai’s request for a variance all week. Tucker said zoning rules require all existing structures to conform to the parking requirement before any lot is deemed buildable, which Zepai’s lot does not. “So, we can’t vote on this,” said Tucker. “The zoning doesn’t require us to give a variance.” Tucker also said the ZBA had been told Zepai’s request to use a vacant lot for parking is a moot point. “The term vacant means no structure existed on the lot, which it has,” said Tucker. “Granting of this variance would negate and nullify the intent and purpose of the HD overlay district. We can’t go against the ordinance.” The board voted unanimously to deny the variance. 1. What comic strip was originally called “Take Barney Google, F’rinstance”? 2. On Dec. 16, 1773, what event took place in Boston Harbor? 3. Who serves the Figgie pudding in “A Christmas Carol”? 4. What was named Elsie and born in Brookfi eld, Mass., at Elm Hill Farm in 1932? 5. On Dec. 17, 1894, what conductor was born in Boston, Mass.? 6. What Greek god’s name is also the name of a fl ute? 7. Where is the Wizard of Oz’s home? 8. On Dec. 18, 2002, what second film of the “Lord of the Rings” fi lms was released? 9. In the Philippines, for the Christmas season starshaped lanterns made of paper and bamboo are traditional; is bamboo a wood? 10. In December 1963 what rock and roll singer/dancer married Miss World Catharina Lodders? 11. On Dec. 19, 1843, what Charles Dickens novella subtitled “In Prose. Being A Ghost Story of Christmas” was published? 12. Traditionally, what Italian cake is eaten at Christmas? Answers 13. Reportedly, this fall a gang of what has been alarming Woburn residents? 14. On Dec. 20, 1946, the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered; who starred in it? 15. Last month the Scottish Football Association banned what professional soccer training practice around match time? 16. December 21 in the United States is the shortest day and longest night – otherwise known as what? 17. In December 2019, Zach King posted “Zach Kings Magic Broomstick” – captioned “They rejected my application to Hogwarts, but I still found a way to be a wizard” – as of March 2022 the most viewed video on what, according to Guinness World Records? 18. Do just dogs have canine teeth? 19. On Dec. 22, 1862, Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy – also known as “Connie Mack” and the “Tall Tactician” – was born in East Brookfi eld, Mass.; what sport did he play and manage? 20. What 1971 movie has the tagline, “It’s scrumdiddlyumptious”? 1. “Barney Google and Snuff y Smith” 2. The Boston Tea Party 3. Mrs. Cratchit 4. The Borden cow that appeared in ads and movies 5. Arthur Fiedler 6. Pan 7. Emerald City 8. “The Two Towers” 9. According to the dictionary, it is a woody or arborescent grass. 10. Chubby Checker 11. “A Christmas Carol” 12. Panettone 13. Turkeys 14. James Stewart 15. Heading the ball 16. The Winter Solstice 17. TikTok 18. No; many animals, including humans, have them. 19. Baseball (for the Philadelphia Athletics) 20. “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”
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