City Commission - Regular Meeting

The following program was produced by CTV Community Television. As we move into summer, we'll be getting more and more information as we go along about different items that are going to be on the August 4th primary. The first one of those is Mr. Crawford from Council on Aging. Nice to see you. And you are talking to us today about a renewal program. of the Millage on Council of Aging. What's going on?

Well, it's actually the Senior Services Millage, and Paul, thank you for having me. Okay, same. Yeah, Senior Services Millage. A lot of people think it is the Council on Aging on Millage.

Well, I made a good mistake then.

Yeah, so it's actually, it's the Commission on Aging, which is appointed by the county commissioners. They oversee the dollars. The Council on Aging does get the bulk of the funds, but it funds 12 different agencies and 28 total programs. each year. Wow. Keep going there for a second as I cough. You know, the nice thing about the senior services millage is we were the first county in the state to have one. So it was passed initially back in 1979 and has been renewed every year ever since. So it's renewed it for a four-year term. And it's really why we have some of the best senior services in the state.

What are the 12 agencies?

So it's Ageways, which is Area Agency on Aging 1.

Oh, yes.

Blue Water Home Care and Hospice, which they were formerly known as Visiting Nurse Association. Right. Blue Water Safe Horizons, Catholic Charities, Council on Aging, Housing Matters, Hunter Hospitality House. Lakeshore Legal Aid, Life Skills Centers, Port Huron Housing Commission, Public Guardian, and Sanborn Grant.

That's really a bunch of organizations that do marvelous work in the county.

They do.

And each one of those units gets a portion of this millage. Correct. Yep. Wow, I really didn't realize that.

And the beauty of it is all of these agencies work so well together. So if a senior has an issue, if it's something, and they call the Council on Aging, something we can't help with, we can get on the phone with Blue Water Home Care and Hospice and they can help. We had a situation where there was a senior that was homeless living in the park. And we worked then with Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home. They're funded to provide beds for homeless seniors through the millage. So, you know, it's just, that's the beauty of St. Clair County is how well we collaborate together. And because of these funds, we can provide better services than a lot of other areas.

So, it's a St. Clair County millage. The services are countywide? Correct. From Algonac to, there's Yale in the county?

Yep, Yale. So we actually have senior centers in Marine City, KPAC, Yale, and Port Huron, and the services are all dispatched from there. It's rare in a county that if a senior, for example, lived in Yale and needed to get to a doctor's appointment in Port Huron, our bus can take them. That doesn't happen everywhere. and it's because of that millage. We deliver meals the entire county, including Harsens Island. Last year we delivered 239,519 meals. 239,000? Correct, yep.

Talk to me about the meals. I see the truck. I see the van.

So we have congregate meal sites where seniors can come and get together and eat. And then we also have home. Washington Life. Washington Life Center is one. And then home-delivered meals. So we have. What do I get in my home delivery? So you're going to get a hot meal. Some seniors also get an additional cold portion of the meal. But the bigger piece of that really is the driver is checking on that senior. If we're going to a senior's door to take them a meal, we don't leave unless that senior answers the door or we find out where they are. It's not uncommon for us to find someone that's fallen. And they know they're going to be OK because they know their driver's coming and they know it's typically about the same time every day. And it's such a lifeline to a lot of people.

So you must make a lot of emergency calls then for your drivers too. That's wonderful work.

So the drivers, if they can't reach the senior, we start calling emergency contacts. Very often they'll say, oh, they're at the doctor. We forgot to let you know. Or it gets to the point where we call local law enforcement and they come and do a wellness check. which might mean breaking down the door.

I bet you people didn't realize that that happens.

Yeah, we can't just leave a meal on the porch. No. We have to see that senior.

260,000? 239,000, yep. That's staggering. Yeah, yep.

And then for our transportation, we did 52,245 rides. Wow. Yeah.

So the funding for the food itself comes from this millage?

So a large portion of it comes from the millage, but we also do get state and federal funds. But the county millage is also the match dollars to bring those state and federal funds. okay but if the millage were not to pass there's there's areas of the state that don't have a millage that they have seniors on a waiting list for home delivered meals like i can't imagine if a senior got out of the hospital and needed help with home delivered meals and i told them sure we'll get to you in a month no that happens yeah i would hate to have that happen that'd be terrible that'd be terrible

Wow, this is impressive. Okay, so the election is going to be on Tuesday, August the 4th. It's not an increase. It's just a renewal of a millage. And so people are already accustomed to painting them. Correct. So the community is changing. Are we getting more seniors?

We are. We're aging faster than the rest of the state of Michigan and the nation. It's projected by 2030 that we're going to be one in three residents in St. Clair County will be over the age of 60. And when you think of those statistics, most people outlive their ability to drive by about seven to 10 years. So that's thousands of people that will age into our senior transportation and needing transportation. Also, we have the younger working age people that are leaving the community very often for work. that impacts the people that can actually be caregivers. That's going to be an issue for us going forward.

It's staggering. You said 52,000 rides you've given so far in the last year. You're going to see an increase in that eventually in four or five years. More vehicles, more people driving, etc. And the number of people that will need home-delivered meals will rise dramatically as well.

Wow. Yeah, it will be a demand on our services, but because of the millage, we're better prepared than a lot of other areas would be. You know, and the seniors, St. Clair County has always taken great care of our seniors. Our senior centers are booming. Yep. Social isolation. We've worked really hard in the last, basically since COVID, because we realize when seniors are very isolated, it really impacts their health. A recent study showed that it's the equivalent, being completely socially isolated is the equivalent of smoking 17 cigarettes a day. So getting out and being active, going to the senior center and participating is huge.

You brought some pictures along, and you said there was a senior prom?

Yeah, we recently did our Washington Life Center and Port Huron Center partnered with the Blue Water YMCA. Look at that. No, that's actually the senior picnic that's coming up in July as part of Blue Water Fest.

Oh, yes, I read that in Times Herald today. Yeah, that's dinner before the prom.

So we had 80 people for our first prom. They had dinner at the Port Huron Senior Center and then the dance at the gym. Oh, wonderful. And there's the dance and the dinner. So some people said because of life circumstances, when they were younger, they were never able to go to their own prom, maybe off to war or something. So this was a great opportunity. They had a lot of fun with it.

Let's go back to the picture of the picnic. It's coming up July 13th. July 14th. 14th.

How do I get involved? So it's in Pine Grove Park in Port Huron. You just show up with a chair. There's entertainment.

No reservation, no nothing? No, no, no.

What time of day? So it starts, I think we start serving lunch at 1130. And the last three years, we've had amazing weather. So we're hoping for that again this year. I'll guarantee it. We appreciate that.

Wow, those are really good things. So it's important that people know what your services are. And you show you are sort of the spokesman for all 12 agencies.

Well, they're all out there doing their own pitch, but since we do receive the bulk of the funds, it's important that we're out there spreading the word and educating people what the millage provides.

And the seniors themselves must know the importance of the renewal. Correct. So they'll get out and vote, and they can vote absentee. They can vote any way they want ahead of time or the day of the election, and we'll go from there. It's wonderful.

Thank you.

Okay, have we missed anything? I don't think so. Always a pleasure to see you, sir. Thank you for all the work you do for the community. We appreciate it. It's a dedicated job that you have, and you do it well.

I love it. Thank you.

I can tell you love it well. That's about it for this edition of the Focus Program. Thanks very much for tuning in. Until next time, I'm Paul Dingeman. See you soon.

Thanks for watching Focus with Paul Dingaman. Focus is produced at the CTV Community Television Studios in St. Clair. For over 20 years, CTV has captured the moments that matter to our community.

The preceding program was produced by CTV Community Television. CTV Community Television is supported by the cities of Marine City and St. Clair. East China Township, Cotterville Township, and the East China School District.