Who would pay your bills or oversee your health care if you were unable to do so? Who has access to your bank account? Do you have a plan? Resources and programs abound to help older adults living alone plan ahead.
Posts on Just Care USA, like this one, this one and this one, help you understand what you need to do to plan ahead. You can also join a group program that helps you organize your financial, health and insurance information in collaboration with others.
Judith Graham writes for KFF Health News that Dorot, a NYC nonprofit organization, offers a free course for older adults across the US called Aging Alone Together. There are also many Facebook and in-person groups, as well as printed materials.
According to AARP, more than three in ten people over 50 live alone without children, or without children they can depend on for assistance. In some cases, their children are estranged from them. In other cases, they don’t believe their children can handle their health and financial matters.
A range of resources enable older adults living alone to feel less isolated and engage with others. Often having others to speak with about planning for the future makes the difference between an older adult planning ahead and not planning ahead. It’s easy to delay action if no one is expecting you to act.
The Dorot program involves six sessions over a total of nine hours. Each session is interactive and helps people prioritize their desires when they are unable to help themselves. The sessions focus on helping people build social supports, consider housing options, complete advance directions, such as living wills and health care proxies, and organize financial and legal matters.
To learn more about Aging Alone Together, email [email protected] or visit the Dorot website.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Five tips for talking to the people you love about their health
- Five steps to get your affairs in order in case of emergency
- Live alone? How to make sure you have the supports to get the medical care you need
- Plan ahead for a hospital visit: Talk to the people you love about these seven important items
- Retirement Reboot: What you should know and how to plan ahead
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