The FAMCare Blog

Somewhere along the line America's pop culture began to malign millennials. They became known as the narcissistic generation that would rather play video games than outdoor sports; craved YouTube fame; wanted only to be tech entrepreneurs; decorated with laptops and futons; were summed up as lazy and self-centered.

We were surprised by the results of our recent mini-poll, when we asked six case workers serving our elder population what they considered the most pressing current problem elders are facing. 3 out of 6 (50%) said, "internet scams". Internet scams?! What’s going on now? What kind of scoundrel would cheat the elderly out of the last of their nest egg?

Case workers tell us that the shameful practice of scamming seniors is on the rise. With the elderly population growing, seniors racked up more than $3 billion in losses this past year. Case workers say that the heart-breaking irony of elder fraud is that seniors are targeted because they tend to be trusting and polite.

Increasing Demand…

Meals On Wheels, which delivers meals to the elderly in their homes and at senior centers, has seen demand for their services explode since the pandemic started.

• When COVID-19 hit, a staggering 89% of Meals On Wheels programs reported increased demand for meals, practically overnight.
• 79% of Meals On Wheels programs saw their demand double.
• Older adults who were mobile prior to the pandemic can no longer safely go to stores to buy their own food, and many do not have loved ones close by to help them through this time. Add this to the roster of seniors who were already homebound.

Great responsibility yields great reward.  This is especially true of SARCOA (Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging), the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving senior citizens of Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties of southeast Alabama.  By continuously seeking ways to better serve the rapidly growing senior population through planning, coordinating, and developing community levels of service, SARCOA is able to make a huge difference as one of 13 AAA’s in Alabama, and one of more than 650 AAA’s in the nation