Alaska Wisdom & Wellness
Every Alaskan wants to age well in Alaska. The goal behind Alaska Wisdom and Wellness is to share about resources and services available to Alaskans as they age.
Our goal is that listeners will have access to information and will know how to contact the agencies that can help with the issues they might encounter as they age.
If you like Alaska Wisdom and Wellness, tell your friends, family, and caregivers about it!
Alaska Wisdom & Wellness
Where can I get help? Call the Aging & Disabilities Resource Centers!
Have you heard of the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in Alaska? These centers provide vital services to help seniors, individuals with disabilities, and caregivers get the support they need. In this episode of "Alaska Wisdom and Wellness," we will learn about the essential services provided by local ADRCs.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to turn a crisis into a manageable situation? The ADRC team members will share some of their most rewarding experiences, such as helping someone secure disability benefits after a seven-year effort or assisting a homeless veteran in finding stable housing. Their stories highlight the importance of respecting individual choices, even when they differ from standard advice, and showcase the profound impact of their work on people's lives.
Ariel, Beth, Rob and Thomas explain how the ADRCs take a personalized approach, including warm introductions and follow-up calls, to ensure that people receive the critical assistance they require. Whether it's housing assistance, navigating Social Security and Medicare, or other needs, you'll gain a better understanding of the ADRC's mission to empower individuals in their own communities.
Call the ADRC's central contact number, 855-565-2017 to connect to someone at the regional ADRC center nearest you.
Please tell your friends about the ADRC. We want to spread this information to ensure seniors receive the help they need.
You can also visit the ADRC website for more information: https://health.alaska.gov/dsds/Pages/adrc/default.aspx
Recorded March 18, 2024 & published May 31, 2024
Brought to you by the Alaska Commission on Aging
Here at the Alaska Commission on Aging, our phones ring several times a week. People call our office who have a problem and are looking for a solution. They usually call us because our name is the Alaska Commission on Aging. They're people who need help with aging issues, social security, housing, transportation, legal advice and a lot of other issues. Now, sometimes we can answer their questions if they're really easy ones, but usually we end up giving them phone numbers of other agencies and our best wishes as they seek solutions. There is one number we give out almost every time, and that's the number for the Aging and Disabilities Resource Centers. Welcome everyone to Alaska. Wisdom and Wellness. I'm Marty Lange.
Speaker 2:And I'm Jef son.
Speaker 1:And we're your hosts for the program. Alaska Wisdom and Wellness is a program designed especially for Alaskan elders and seniors, as well as those who are actively involved in their caregiving. As we grow older, there are often many questions and concerns that arise. Our goal is to address these issues and provide you with practical insights to make life easier. So, whether you're listening in Ketchikan or Kaktovik Utqiagvik, or on Alaska or somewhere in between, welcome to Alaska Wisdom and Wellness. Today, on Alaska Wisdom and Wellness, we have several folks here with us who work at the Aging and Disability Resource Centers. An Alaska-sized welcome to Arielle, who serves as the coordinator for the ADRC, and Beth Thomas and Rob. Welcome Welcome. To start off with, what exactly is the Aging and Disability Resource Center?
Speaker 3:Is it a place you go? Do you guys sell something? What is the Aging and Disability Resource Center? The Aging Disabilities Resource Center, known as ADRC, is basically a one-stop shop. You have information, referral assistance and prescreens.
Speaker 4:So if they're looking for housing, we can help them. If they're looking for food resources, we can help them. If they're looking to get Social Security, Medicare, you name it, we can pretty much try to at least help them on our own end. Or if we do not have the answers, then we'll go ahead and point them in the right direction. We're an all-in in one type of agency, I guess you can say, for seniors or disabled folks or anybody. Honestly, we don't really have any sort of confines of what population that we assist.
Speaker 1:So it's not age-limited, but our audience is seniors, and so any senior can call you with a need. So what happens when someone picks up the phone and they dial your number? What can they kind of expect?
Speaker 5:So, if you're looking to talk specifically about our mission statement, the mission of the ADRC North is to help seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers access long-term supports and services in their home communities, regardless of age or income, and we act as a clearinghouse for information, and we have four ways in which we do that.
Speaker 5:The very first way is to help people identify what their needs are, and the second would be to just sort of explore those options for what types of supports and services are available in their individual communities and then connect them with those resources.
Speaker 5:So instead of just giving out phone numbers and saying, hey, here are the numbers for 10 different agencies, we really try to look at individuals, look at where they are in the community, look at what their specific needs are and then even do warm handoffs to other agencies.
Speaker 5:So we sort of pride ourselves in our partnerships with local agencies too, to say, hey, call this specific person, talk to them, or even we're going to call ahead of time and let them know that you're going to call and these are what your specific needs are, so that they're ready to handle what you might need. One thing that makes us a little bit more pointed or a little different from other agencies is, then we follow up to make sure that people have gotten the supports and services they need. Whether we specifically follow up with them and call them X amount of time later or we ask them to call us to report on whether they've gotten the supports and services they need really depends on the person, their needs, their familial support or their sort of what we call natural supports, and how they'd like to proceed.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's really cool. So anybody with a need can call you up and, if I understood you correctly, you then try to match their need with some provider and even call back to see if they got what they were looking for.
Speaker 4:That's the goal. So when they call, depending on what their needs are, you know, first of all, we just asked what. You know how old they are, what they're looking for, what they need to. You know what do they need, and then we'll figure out what they need and go from there. If it's getting on to retirement, if it's Medicare, any of that stuff, then we'll go ahead and help them and give them the resources that they have asked for.
Speaker 1:That's really amazing. That is fantastic. Does it cost anything to call the Aging and Disability Resource Center?
Speaker 3:It doesn't cost the consumer anything. We get a grant through the state of Alaska, the Aging and Disability Resource Center grant, and it is funded and then we do services to the people.
Speaker 1:So that's amazing, a free service that's already taken care of. So why does the Aging and Disability Resource Center exist? I mean, can't people just go on the Internet and find that information?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they can, but sometimes it's a little tricky to find their way through some of the systems. So it's easier just to go to somebody that's been around and knows how to work the systems and where to find the exact information they're looking for our applications and some people don't even have internet.
Speaker 5:The difference between just calling and getting information or looking it up online is the fact that we really try to for home delivered meals. Why not look in that same area and see if you can get food boxes delivered once a month as well? Or if you're going to use in-home supports and services, let's look and talk about home modifications and how services go together to create a truly stable base for people looking for services.
Speaker 1:Okay, Wow, that's fantastic.
Speaker 5:So could you please give me some examples of some of the phone calls that you get. Rob, do you want to field that? So there's a different voice in the world?
Speaker 4:So I mean we get calls every day that range from do you have any money to help us with gas? To do you have any money to help me make sure that my utilities don't get shut off, to my mother-in-law is experiencing stage four cancer. What resources are out there for us to help her? It ranges all over the place.
Speaker 3:For in the Bristol Bay region area we get phone calls anywhere from Linden Library looking for possible bids, portable commodes, applications for food stamps, food bank, any other type of social security.
Speaker 4:I'm turning 65 next month. What are the steps I need to do to sign up for Medicare? I am 62. Can I take my Social Security retirement? What's the difference if I do it now versus when I'm 70? What is the income limit for me to be able to sign up for Medicaid? Another call is where do we send our tax form for our Social Security to? How do we sign up for disabilities? Just a handful of examples right there. Do you have any firewood? Do you know where to find firewood? Because I know up in Fairbanks that's always a common question. Do you know where to find oil? First, oh, you know. Like, where's the turkey for thanksgiving that we can get, because I have a family of 12 and I can can't afford to feed them all. So I think that that's just in one day of maybe even one hour of work that we get those type of calls.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's an amazing array of questions that people bring to you, and so you guys know all the answers to this.
Speaker 4:We do the best we can and if we don't know the answer, we will definitely find it for them. That's one of our main objectives is, if we don't know it, we will definitely get you an answer and try to help the best we can.
Speaker 5:And as far as getting answers is concerned, I think that one of the big things is those partnerships that we mentioned earlier is that knowing, like Rob said, knowing who to reach out to and get the answers, or the idea that we have made these critical relationships and that those people are available to help us respond and respond correctly, so that people get the right thing and I think that I'm not telling any tales out of school to say that sometimes it takes more than one call. Sometimes a person will call in and will give some direction and a place to go. They call back and give us feedback and we have to go a different direction, either because of where they live or because of their particular situation, or the service simply unfortunately, sometimes was not available was not available.
Speaker 3:Some of us has some direct lines to certain agencies, so we can get through a little quicker and set down an 800 number, we'll have a direct line.
Speaker 1:So in a way kind of used a metaphor you guys are like there are these strings out there and you're the ones tying the knots together to make the connections between the person that has the need and the people who are offering the service, as well as connecting the service providers to make sure that all of the need is getting met. Is that kind of an okay analogy?
Speaker 5:I think network really does, if you think about phishing and actual net work. That's what we aim to do is to tie everyone together so that we're all working toward the same goal.
Speaker 1:So, since our audience, one of our focuses is to reach folks who are in rural and remote communities, with this information. When folks out in those areas call in, what are they usually asking for?
Speaker 3:Those same things they mainly call us for senior benefits, social security applications on how to apply, what to do, getting set up for retirement at age 65, what should I apply for Medicare services and then we give them information that we have and then connect them up with the SHIP office that knows basically to the T on what services Medicare and stuff like that and what not to apply for and what to apply for and not get penalized no-transcript.
Speaker 5:They're usually reaching out to find state and federal resources that can help them fund care inside their home communities, and so we do a lot of application assistance in that case. So we have spent many hours, rob, tell me if I'm lying on the phone with individuals filling out applications in rural areas so that we can help them with that and then move that application forward and make that connection and then the agency can touch back with them in their own community.
Speaker 4:Okay, yeah, many, many days of filling out applications. I know that Gen 50 C3 form very well. I know that Medicare application very well. I know how to do a retirement application in two minutes. I don't even need to look at it anymore.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic, that's really great. I mean the fact that you're helping people fill out the forms. I know that one of the frustrations that people have these days is that all of the forms are now online and they expect you to have a computer and internet connection to be able to fill these things out. How is that kind of thing affecting you guys? Are you still dealing a lot with paper? What, yeah, tell me about filling out the forms?
Speaker 4:So with us, and I'm sure with Beth as well, we just always are printing up paper for every majority of the clients. It's still paper applications A lot, you know, I would say 75% of the people I talk to are like, hey, I don't have a computer, I don't have a printer. Can you please print up this form, make copies of it, and then we mail it to them and then they fill it out and then they come back to us and we mail it or fax it to whatever agency the paperwork needs to get to, because people also just can't even afford to mail anything. It seems like a lot.
Speaker 4:Um, so it's a. It is definitely a big little roadblock for a lot of the aging population because, first of all, they're not familiar with the technology. They're intimidated by it. A lot of people are and if they check one wrong box on an online application, it goes from a retirement or Medicare application into a disability application and then it can take eight to 12 months to get their retirement or Medicare, when it should be pretty immediate, to 12 months to get their retirement or Medicare when it should be pretty immediate.
Speaker 1:That's where we're able to help. Let me move on to a different segment here. You guys have been using the term ADRC, and that's short for the Aging and Disability Resource Center. What is your favorite part about working at the ADRC?
Speaker 3:My favorite part is when the elder gets all excited, comes to you and thank you for your help, or, if not, when you go see them, when you travel to the villages and reach out to check in on them and see how they're doing and if they need any type of services. They get all excited when they see you and stuff like that. They know the person that's doing the work.
Speaker 5:For me, bar none, it is just talking to people during the day. The most fun is just being able to turn someone's day around from. I'm really having a crisis here. I don't even know where to start to gosh. I have a really good plan in place and it may not be perfect and it may not happen tomorrow, but we have a plan moving forward and I have a good idea of how I'm going to get help live the lives that they want to live in their home communities really can happen with a simple phone call and a little bit of patience for all of the things that we've mentioned Patience with paperwork, patience with agencies, patience with getting online or using online resources. Getting online or using online resources and just that interaction during the day is, to me, it's the best thing.
Speaker 1:How about you Rob?
Speaker 4:I would fully agree with Beth To have someone call in totally in panic crisis mode and then being able to resolve their issues and then getting a follow-up call saying thank you so much. Everything lined up exactly as we were hoping. You know, we were sleeping in a tent and now we have housing. Or you know, my mother has, you know, has no money and then all of a sudden we got him on disability and then all of it, you know, and then there's constant, reliable funding to where they can afford their housing, they have power again, or whatever it is. It's just, it's a reward factor. I've done a lot of different things in my life as an adult for employment, and this job has been one of the more rewarding ones that I've ever had. For that reason, just knowing the you know, probably thousands of people that we've affected, and in a positive way, it is just really encouraging and exciting to know that we're able to do that.
Speaker 1:How about you, Ariel?
Speaker 6:Well for me. I'm in the background, I'm supporting aging and disability resource centers, and so as part of that it's just kind of ensuring that things for them are going as smoothly as possible in terms of how they work with the state and in their operations to let them do the work that they do. So I think just knowing the level of support that ADRCs offer and being able to support them in doing that, I find that to be really meaningful.
Speaker 1:Don't go anywhere, we'll be right back. One of the things that sometimes people have this impression of is that government is this faceless big machine that's there to kind of roll over you and they don't really care about you. But what I'm hearing from you folks is actually you really do care about the people who call up and that you really do want to help. That to me, that's really really awesome. What a great job. So do either of you have a story that you'd like to share of kind of your typical maybe not a typical case, but just a case where someone needed help and you got to follow it all the way through to the end?
Speaker 4:One person. I started a social security disability case with them back in 2015. And they came into my office probably about six months ago saying that we finally were awarded disability and it took us three times of applying. It took us three appeals. We took it all the way to the federal appeal court and won the case and then they ended up getting a substantial back paycheck because it was seven years of fighting this and Social Security awarded them from the date that we started it back in 2015. So that person was able to start anew after years and years of struggling and to know that the seven years of hard work to make it happen actually ended up succeeding with it. Now, it's not like that all the time, but that is definitely one of the positive ones, for sure.
Speaker 1:How about you, Beth ones?
Speaker 5:for sure. How about you, beth? Yeah, absolutely Kind of the same type of thing. Adrc North very often works with individuals who are homeless. We also are the Veterans Directed Care Program point of contact here in Fairbanks, and so very recently we worked with a homeless veteran who had actually come from a rural setting, came into Fairbanks to get some medical care. That medical care turned out to be much more serious, at least for a short period of time, and this gentleman ended up homeless. We were able to work with the veterans care folks at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission, help get them stable housing, get in-home supports and services, get signed up for all VA services. And now that person is going to go on to work at the Department of Vocational Rehab and go back to work and get back up on his feet. And he's just one of those ones who comes in again almost on a weekly basis just to poke his head in and say I'm still here, I'm still doing the thing, I'm walking from my apartment over to get to my class and just thought I'd pop in and say hi, and so that's a success story.
Speaker 5:I do want to point out that success stories aren't always the case, but the important part of what we do, or a very important part of what we do, is that we allow people to live the way they want to from today until their last day. They want to from today until their last day, and there are a number of times where the thing that a lot of people would say is the best thing for someone to do isn't what a person chooses, and our goal is to give a person choice so that they can make their own decisions and not the decisions that someone else thinks are right for them. And so some of our stories end up being not as successful as some people would think. But if a person gets to live the way they want to, from today till their last day in their homes, they are safe and well. The way they choose to do that is not up to us. It is not our goal to influence someone and try to make them change their lives.
Speaker 5:We also, in that same group of people, have a number of people who are choosing to live out. To live out, individuals don't always necessarily want to have a home. They are what we would call homeless and they are just living out according to them, and so just being able to get them the supports and services that they want, say, yes, I will take senior benefit to help me keep my camp going. Yes, I will take help from Salvation Army to get myself a new tent or a new propane tank or something like that to help me live the life I want. There's a number of people saying, well, don't you want an apartment and don't you want to go into senior living and don't you want? And the answer is no, I want to live this life. Thank you very much.
Speaker 5:I have taken what was important for me from the community supports and services and I've used them and I'm living the life that I want to live, and so I consider that to be 100% success. What we oftentimes consider to be unsuccessful have to do with the terrible lack of service providers in Alaska right now, specifically direct service providers, people who are doing all the right things. We've gotten them hooked up with supports and services. We've helped them sign up for in-home care, and caregivers certainly aren't available. Those things that are less successful do happen from time to time. People don't get the supports and services they need, even though they're signed up for them, and that's why it's really important we do have the support of Ariel in her position of our legislators and of other organizations to help move those things forward and provide the infrastructure for caregivers.
Speaker 1:Wow, I am learning a lot here. This is great. One question I had is what are the most frequently used resources that are offered that you get calls about?
Speaker 5:This is a test, Rob. You want to go?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was just trying to think about that one because it's all over the place. But we definitely use a lot of food bank resources. We use a lot of the available charities to help with paying utilities. You know whatever type of utility it is through the churches, through Salvation Army, through rally charities up in, you know, wasilla. They're a great resource. We do have a lot of durable medical equipment resource questions for people who can't afford, like a wheelchair to, you know, a walker to getting a ramp put in. I wouldn't say there's one specific type of resource that we use all the time, because every day I feel like we're using multiple throughout the whole valley. Throughout the whole valley. It can be getting hotel rooms for people, it can be using the taxi cab because there's lack of transportation for people to get to and from appointments. I would say public assistance, of course, is one of the biggest resources that we use, just in general, through the state. It varies every day, but that's just a snapshot of the resources we use every day.
Speaker 5:Day, but that's just a snapshot of the resources we use every day and increasingly as the silver tsunami becomes more apparent in the state of Alaska right as our elder population grows, we do see a lot more people in need of in-home supports and services like a personal care attendant and getting funding for assisted living. There are a lot of folks who come upon a need through incident, accident or illness for either short-term assisted living to recover from an incident, accident or illness or long-term care, and getting that paid for is one of the things that we help people do.
Speaker 1:Okay, to wrap up now in one sentence what is something that you would like to tell Alaska's elders and seniors?
Speaker 5:Plan ahead. Use the hiker's motto Drink before you're thirsty, eat before you're thirsty, eat before you're hungry. Have long-term plans that will support the life that you want to live from today to your last day, and make sure that every part of that plan is supported by someone in your life and that they know the plan that you have put into place.
Speaker 1:That is really good advice.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I would agree with Beth. I would fully agree with Beth on plan ahead and prepare. You know, just be ready for the unexpected as well, but also tell your children to plan for their future, because that's the biggest thing that we see. A lot is as you're getting older. You don't know, we have no idea what to expect, of course, but use your experiences and really help your own kids and other youth to be better prepared for when they're older, because that seems to be a lot of what I see is people, as they get older, just aren't ready. You know, they just think they're going to be able to work all the time or just expect the unexpected, because you never know what can happen with your health and you never know what can happen with your job. You never do know. So just be ready and expect the best, but also expect the unknown and be ready for it.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's really good advice. Do you have any last comments or anything else that you'd like to share?
Speaker 4:So stay positive. You know, every day is a new day. One day at a time. I think it's the best way to go with that and always give us a call. We are there to help. So always give ADRC a call and we will find a way to help you.
Speaker 1:So what is your contact number? I've heard that there's the general number that people can call. What number should they call?
Speaker 6:They should call 1-855-565-2017. So if you're anywhere in the state of Alaska and you don't know what Aging and Disability Resource Center might be the one to help you, you should call that number and through that number you can get connected with those different regional ADRCs.
Speaker 4:So for LINCS Resource Center, it's 907-373-3632. That's our direct line and we'll be able to help you.
Speaker 1:And what area does LINCS serve?
Speaker 4:We are the Mat-Su borough, so Wasilla, palmer, all the way up to Talkeetna and Trapper Creek, all the way out to Lake Louise, pretty much the state of West Virginia. And you know we help people from all over the state of course, but that is our main population. You know Squetna, rural areas that have to snow machine in for appointments, yeah, so it's really fun the way people get to our appointments.
Speaker 1:And how about you, Beth?
Speaker 5:ADRC North's main number is 907-452-2551. And what we ask is that when you call and you get information, share the wealth. We hope that you will also, I completely agree with Rob when he said stay positive. Every day is a new day and we hope that if you're helped by ADRC North, the very best thing that you could do is to share that help with a friend, either by giving them the information we gave or by encouraging them to give us a call.
Speaker 1:What a great group of people. Thank you for being on our show and thank you for what you do to serve Alaska's elders and seniors. I appreciate you guys, because I send calls your way all the time, and I'm sure that the folks who call you appreciate you as well. So thank you for your service to the state and to the seniors. So now it's time for Pat's points. Pat has been working on behalf of Alaska seniors for more than 35 years and in that time she has gained a lot of knowledge and wisdom. Pat, what did you find notable in our conversation with the Aging and Disability Resource Center's folks today?
Speaker 2:I think the first thing that was very notable, Marty, was that the ADRCs are a great resource for navigating through many of the complex issues of what elderly and Alaskans might need, and if they can't help, then they will connect you with a provider who can assist you, Because there are lots of hurdles out there and information to gather, and that, I think, is their strong point. They're not everywhere in the state but they do have that 800 number I think it was to call. So that is what I gained from it Great resource and the context. They were more than willing to help the elderly in our state.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and kind of like a one-stop first place that you call if you're stuck and most likely they're going to be the ones who will get you a good answer.
Speaker 2:That's right, and if they don't have the answer, that collaboration with other entities and agencies that can help is what they do as well. Making those referrals and the follow-up I think that was really a strong point is that they follow up to make sure that the senior or elderly person was connected to the services that they need and to see how they're doing. That's a great point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was really impressed they actually make that phone call back to follow up and say how did it go? Yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker 2:And I just want to make a point here is before ADRCs came into being and from a federal guideline. That's where it came from and then implemented. In Alaska, senior centers were the place to go to get information. But senior centers collaborate with ADRCs very easily in getting information, perhaps having a Medicare or Medicaid counselor on board, and so they are a great resource as well with equipment they might loan. But you know, people get benefits when agencies and those people who are working in those provider situations collaborate with other agencies. That's the best benefit for people and that's how ADRCs work with other hospitals, physical therapists, senior centers, medicare, medicaid and all those other agencies that a senior might have to encounter.
Speaker 1:So in essence, a senior maybe should just go down to the local senior center first, and if they can't get connected to the resources, then give the ADRC a call or do both.
Speaker 2:Yes, they could certainly do both, and it just depends on that. We don't have a lot of ADRCs in our state. So if you have a senior center nearby who can assist and maybe connect you with an ADRC and that number, everybody has to work together to get the services that are needed. That's the most important thing. There shouldn't be any borders or turfs or anything like that. It should be assimilated into a plan of care to assist the person to get what they need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's what it sounds like the ADRC is doing. So thank you so much, Pat, for sharing your insights and your wisdom. In case you didn't get the number for the Aging and Disability Resource Centers, let me give it to you one more time. That number is 855-565-2017. Grab your pen. I'll say it one more time 855-565-2017. Grab your pen. I'll say it one more time 855-565-2017. If you're a senior and you don't know where to start looking for help, ask at your local senior center and also don't hesitate to call the ADRC. Alaska Wisdom and Wellness is a production of the Alaska Commission on Aging. Our theme music, High Clover, was provided by Audio Hero and downloaded from wwwvidevonet. Today's program was edited by yours truly, Marty Lang e, who is also your host, along with Pat Branson. Thanks for listening.
