Resources available to help older relatives live safely in their homes

Family gatherings during the holiday season offer opportunities to check on how older relatives are doing and how they are planning for the future.

“During the holiday season, family members can often get a fresh look at how well parents, grandparents and other older relatives are coping with their living situations, said Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper. “Resources are available so older adults can get the help they may need to remain healthy and safe at home.”

Among resources available through the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Board on Aging are:

• Senior LinkAge Line. The Minnesota Board on Aging’s free statewide information and assistance service, at 1-800-333-2433, provides help understanding prescription drug coverage and health care options and connects callers with transportation services, chore help, meal services, housing options, legal services and more. The Senior LinkAge Line is part of a help network that also includes Disability Linkage Line, 1-866-333-2466, the Veterans Linkage Line, 1-888-LinkVet, and www.MinnesotaHelp.info, the online service that connects people to a wide variety of services in their communities.
• Own Your Future. The Own Your Future website, mn.gov/ownyourfuture, provides adults of all ages help to plan for and plan to pay for the care most will need in their later years. The website includes the “Own Your Future: Long-term Care Planning Guide.” DHS and the Board on Aging lead the Own Your Future initiative to help Minnesotans of all ages think about help with personal care and household tasks many will need as they grow older.
• Family caregivers. Resources for family caregivers, who provide more than 90 percent of the long-term care needed by older Minnesotans, are available on the Minnesota Board on Aging website, mnaging.net. The Caregiver Resource Guide posted on the site includes checklists to plan for caregiving and for self-care for caregivers.
• Adult protective services. Concerns about possible abuse, neglect or financial exploitation of a loved one can be shared with the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center, which is administered by the Department of Human Services. The center provides a toll-free number, 1-844-880-1574, and the general public can call 24/7 to report suspected maltreatment of vulnerable adults. 

Vulnerable adults include any person 18 or older who:

• Has a physical or mental illness or other physical, mental or emotional impairment that affects the person’s ability to care for themselves or protect themselves from maltreatment; and/or
• Is staying in a licensed facility, such as a hospital, nursing home or group home; and/or
• Receives services from a licensed provider, such as a home care agency. 

Maltreatment can include physical, emotional or sexual abuse; caregiver neglect or self-neglect; or financial exploitation. More information is available at mn.gov/dhs/adult-protection.

Projects funded to help older Minnesotans stay at home

Strategies to help Minnesotans stay in their homes and remain vital members of their communities as they grow old will be employed this year with a total of $2,296,787 in funding appropriated by the Minnesota Legislature. Helping Minnesotans stay in their homes and communities also saves the state dollars by making sure that nursing home care is reserved for those who need more intensive services.

Among projects being awarded through the Minnesota Department of Human Services Community Service/Community Services Development Grants are several that support informal caregivers, friends and family members whose help is critical to supporting people 65 and older to remain in their homes and communities.

“Providing older Minnesotans the support they need to stay in their homes and communities is good   all-around for the state,” said Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson. “It enhances freedom of choice for individuals, strengthens communities and saves taxpayer dollars.”

The 14 projects being funded are the following:

• Knute Nelson Home Care, based in Alexandria, is receiving $59,311 to introduce in-home monitoring and sensor technology to promote aging in place for older adults in Douglas, Traverse, Grant and Stevens counties.
• Duluth Lighthouse for the Blind is receiving $160,000 to provide services and assistive technology to help older Minnesotans with vision loss who are at higher risk for nursing home placement  remain safe and independent in their own homes.
• The Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, based in Mankato, is awarded $177,634 to improve access to transportation for veterans, older adults and people with disabilities by connecting consumers to rides and other transportation options from a variety of providers and programs in a 27-county area in southwestern Minnesota.
• MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, based in Detroit Lakes, will use $188,000 to make affordable chore and homemaker services available to older adults as well as complete home modifications, including building accessible ramps, in Otter Tail and Wadena counties.
• Jewish Community Center of the Greater St. Paul Area will receive $99,999 to improve services to people with early memory loss and their caregivers over two years.
• Volunteer Services of Carlton County is awarded $204,778 to deliver chore, transportation, caregiver respite and caregiver counseling services to people in Carlton and Aitkin counties.
• Amherst H. Wilder Foundation of St. Paul is receiving $259,992 over three years to expand a chronic disease self-management program and to develop neighborhood-based Caregiver Cafés and a volunteer caregiver mentor program in Ramsey County.
• Chatfield Lutheran Church is awarded $180,008 to develop and provide chore and homemaker services, transportation, chronic disease and falls prevention care, caregiver support and companion services to residents of Fillmore County over three years.
• Pioneer Care of Fergus Falls is receiving $116,297 to assemble a community collaborative to use and study electronically monitored medication management in people’s homes in West Central Minnesota.
• Vine Faith in Action of Mankato is awarded $244,595 to provide services such as caregiver support, respite, chore and home modification services to about 900 elders in Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown, Sibley, Le Sueur, Watonwan and Waseca counties.
• ANGELS, a Living at Home/Block Nurse program based in McGregor, will receive $50,000 to assess the home modification needs of older adults in Aitkin County and build a database of volunteers to perform the needed home modifications so older adults may continue to live at home.
• Great River Area Faith in Action, based in Becker, is awarded $293,998 over a three-year period to expand its Living Well at Home program into Princeton and St. Cloud, implement a respite program in Becker and begin a chronic care management services program in Sherburne and Wright County.
• Oromo Community Inc. of Minneapolis and St. Paul is awarded $150,000 to employ coordinators to recruit, train, deploy and support 34 Oromo and Somali community volunteers to conduct weekly check-ins with elders in their community and perform chore and homemaker tasks as needed.
• Network Therapy Services of Ramsey County is awarded $112,175 over a two-year period to provide home modification services to older adults in St. Anthony and Roseville to facilitate and promote aging in place.

More information on Community Service/Community Services Development Grants is available at www.dhs.state.mn.us/cssd.