About 40 people moved off a waiting list and into the Senior Dining Club for low-income seniors, and no waiting list grew in its place.
More seniors got vouchers to buy locally grown food at Missoula's farmers markets.
“We're about the only unbiased information people have,” said Susan Kohler, executive director of Missoula Aging Services. “We've just been slammed with Part D questions. Adding support helped ease somewhat the stress on the staff.”
Aging Services also sent $9,000 to Seeley Lake to help keep keep its senior transportation bus running between Seeley and Missoula, $10,000 to help Missoula's bus system for the elderly and disabled, and $7,000 to MRTMA, a transportation service connecting the Bitterroot and Missoula.
Many seniors outlive their ability to drive - many by 10 years - but they still crave the independence that specialized bus services can provide, she said.
“We don't want to duplicate services, but we want to enhance services,” Kohler said.
Aging Services plans to use less than the full 2 mills allowed this year, or about $262,000 out of the $350,000 approved by voters.
“We want to be able to sustain programs we've already got, and we don't want to start something we can't keep up,” she said.
Respite care, workshops for families dealing with Alzheimer's, a “friendly visitation” program for volunteers under 55 willing to visit home-bound and facility-bound seniors, and expanded hours for a formal ombudsman program for nursing and personal-care homes also are in the works, she said.
“The county, the city, the citizens of Missoula - they are all doing their part,” said Kohler. “Now the state has to do its part. The state really is our weakest partner, and the federal government is a wild card.”
Montana's network of Aging Services offices is asking the 2007 Legislature for an additional $8 million in the next biennium, and also is pushing for a trust fund to help with the “silver tsunami” ahead, the retiring of baby boomers and the huge stresses expected as they care for their own parents.
“One of our greatest needs is to get to that adult child of aging parents,” Kohler said.
Soon they'll be knocking on the door, asking for help, and “they don't even know what they need yet.”
Missoula Aging Services plans to start focus groups and surveys in the next few years to be as prepared as possible.
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