On April 8th, 2011 I was able to spend time at my town's senior center. i was able to take part in the day's events which consisted of breakfast with the low income seniors and bingo, followed by some other games. I was able to see that poverty truly does strike senior citizens. I spoke with a lady I will call "Sally" and through our conversation she revealed to me that she had quit taking her medications because she could no longer afford them. Sally told me that she is 89 years old and is going to die anyway so she decided to buy groceries over buying medication. This is HEART BREAKING to me. Even if she is 89 years old she should have the means to buy her medication! To me there should never be a choice in food or meds for seniors, they have paid their price to society they have worked hard and raised families seniors medications should be free!! While I was there I was also able to speak with the 3 professionals that run the center. They told me that they do so much more than just plan events for the seniors. They are directly involved with helping the seniors navigate Medicare and Medicaid. There is an opening for an Admin. Assistant so I applied and actually interviewed for the position today. The effect of not only that day on the community but daily is that low income seniors are highly dependant on the center, not only for socialization needs but for a place that is free of charged to them that they can be walked through the daunting task of navigating their insurance coverage. My reflections of the day are that the proffesionals in this field are highly underpaid! One staff member told me that "if she could be paid in hugs she would be a millionaire" I think that the senior center is a vital part of my community and I hope they will be able to keep the doors open for years to come for the sake of our communities senior citizens.
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