Older Americans Month and the Older Americans Act by Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director
Happy Older Americans Month! This year the Federal Administration on Aging has declared this year’s theme “Older Americans, Making Choices for a Healthier Future”. Be sure to contact us if you are trying to find ways to have a healthier life. Our EAA-z-Fix program can help your house become safer; our meals program can motivate you to start eating better and Medicare D can help pay for those expensive medications. If none of those suit you, well, volunteering for our agency can keep you active and involved! Give us a call and we will do our best to help you make those good choices!
When Older Americans Month was established by then President Kennedy, only about 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were very few programs to meet their needs. In April of 1963, after meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens, President Kennedy designated May as Senior Citizens Month. The intent was to celebrate past and current older person’s contributions to our country, particularly those who participated in our country’s defense. In 1980, President Carter changed the May designation name to Older Americans Month and it has been celebrated as such ever since.
Two years later, on July 14, 1965, the Older Americans Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In addition to creating the Administration on Aging, it also authorized grants to the states for community planning and services. It also allowed for research, training and demonstration projects in the field of aging. Subsequent reauthorizations of the law has added many amendments over the years, including the National Family Caregiver Program. The Older Americans Act is one of the reasons Eastern Agency on Aging is able to continue to provide valuable information, options and services.
Eastern Agency was formally incorporated in 1974 and was designated as one of Maine’s five area agencies on aging. Initially Eastern Agency on Aging was known as the Eastern Task Force on Aging. Later that name was changed to the Eastern Area Agency on Aging and then became the Eastern Agency on Aging. Many of you still call our agency the “Task Force on Aging”. There continues to be 5 agencies on aging; Senior Spectrum (Central Maine), Seniors Plus (Western Maine), Aroostook Agency on Aging (Northern Maine), Southern Maine Agency on Aging (Southern Maine) and Eastern Agency on Aging (Eastern Maine).
What is the status of older persons in the United States today? Census figures for 2004 show there are 36.3 million Americans over 65 and 4.9 million of those are over 85. There are 6.5 million persons over 65 still working and 73,000 enrolled in a college. 10.2% of those over 65 are living in poverty, and 81% own their own homes. 12.4 million of those over 65 reported that they exercised regularly with their favorite form of exercise being walking, followed by exercise equipment, net fishing and swimming. There was an estimated 64,628 centenarians (over 100 years of age) living in the US in 2004.
This May we will be traveling to various communities to celebrate the accomplishments of the winners of the Eastern Agency on Aging and George Hale Silver Frame Awards for Active Aging. Look for your friends and neighbors as we honor them over the next couple of months in this newsletter ,on our website, and in the media. And enjoy Older Americans Month!
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