The members of the Portland Elder Care Council represent a wealth of information, knowledge and advice to help you with eldercare issues or generally with any issues that aging seniors face. We have "been there and done that" many times, not only with our own loved ones but on countless occasions with members of our community. We assist individuals in the community who can't seem to find what they are looking for even after numerous phone calls and exhaustive internet searches. Through our experience we have developed a well-deserved motto; which is "Difficult Problems – Clear Solutions."

Perhaps you are looking for sources of funds to help you pay for unforeseen expenses, or for help with veterans benefits, or understanding services provided by Medicare and Medicaid. Maybe you need someone to assist you in the home or provide maintenance or yard care or maybe you need advice on finding a long term care community for you or a loved one. Maybe you need legal work, or financial planning or home care services or tax advice or advice on dealing with other members of the family in a caregiving situation. We can provide all of that and much more.

You can either attend one of our many educational workshops in the community or you can call us or email us for free advice or assistance. We operate as a one-stop shopping service for assisting the elderly of Utah. We want to help you in any way we can. Please feel free to contact us.

Facing the Realities and Adversities of Aging

November 12, 2019

Getting older is definitely not a cakewalk. If there is one thing that is true for every living person on this planet it is that everyone of us will get older and eventually die. No one yet has ever figured out a way around this fact of life. And it is also a given that as our bodies age every one of us will be more susceptible to developing one or more of the 3 D's - disease, disability or dementia. Chances are many individuals who are not even at retirement age have already developed one or more of these conditions. In this message I'm going to address the myth that the so-called "Golden Years" are available to all seniors. For many it really is a myth. A large number of seniors are affected by what I will call here the realities and adversities of aging. The dictionary defines adversity as: "an unfortunate event or circumstance."

The concept of retirement is a fairly recent invention dating back to a novel German government policy in 1883 that forced older workers to become unemployed and in return paid them a government pension until they died. The idea was to free up jobs for younger workers. Eventually this concept was adopted by all modern industrialized economies. Throughout history, prior to the idea of retirement, people just simply worked until they died or became too disabled to work. And in many areas of the world this is still true. Nowadays, retirement is viewed as a reward for working hard at a job that is less than desirable. Retirement represents an extended period of rest and reward for the perceived undesirable activity of working throughout one's lifetime.

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