Senior voicesFree Access

Montcalm County senior citizens are active and opinionated, have much wisdom to offer and want to be involved in the community.

They are part of a rapidly growing population within the county.

They are also sometimes fragile and in need of a helping hand.

The Montcalm County Commission on Aging recently hired Brian DaVita of the West Michigan Research Institute to conduct a community needs assessment regarding how to add or improve on county services for senior citizens.

The Commission on Aging, which is millage-funded by county voters, has a fund balance of $764,506 as of last September, including a $31,245 surplus carried over from the last fiscal year. The agency’s budget is around $1.5 million annually and $859,435 is currently budgeted from the millage. With the community assessment, Commission on Aging officials hope to receive guidance and feedback about how to best spend some of that money over the next five years.

PHOTO GALLERY

As part of the assessment, five listening dates were scheduled throughout the county in April so seniors could provide feedback about needs and services. The events were most well attended in Howard City with 20 seniors present and in Greenville with 11 seniors present. Only eight seniors attended in Stanton, seven seniors in Carson City and the lowest attended event was in Edmore with just four seniors.

However, the listening events were not the only way information was gathered. DaVita also met with Commission on Aging partners and interviewed agency staff, spoke with caregivers, volunteers, transportation users, meal recipients, in-home service users and local township supervisors and conducted random interviews at local businesses. An online survey was posted as well.

The main concerns voiced by seniors centered on transportation, healthy and accessible meals, in-home care and assistance and social opportunities.

Interestingly, the majority of seniors in attendance at the listening sessions were not aware that the Commission on Aging already offers all these services.

The county agency uses a combination of volunteers and paid-for aides. Many services offered are free, some are donation-based and some are based on a sliding scale, however, “You’re not going to be denied a service if for some reason you couldn’t contribute,” said newly hired Commission on Aging Director Lisa Posey.

About 18,000 of Montcalm County’s 67,000-plus residents are age 60 or older (around 27% of the county’s population), and that number is increasing on a daily basis.

“We do have an ever-aging population in Montcalm County with a variety of needs,” DaVita said. “A 65-year-old’s needs are not an 80-year-old’s needs.”

DaVita will present his findings in a report to the Commission on Aging Board by May 23. Here’s what the Daily News learned while attending the listening events throughout April.

FOOD & SOCIALIZATION

Seniors expressed thankfulness for the Commission on Aging’s home-delivered meal service, but some thought the qualifications were too stringent.

The agency delivers nutritious meals to the homes of seniors throughout the county. The only requirements are that the person is homebound, unable to prepare their own meals and lacks a caregiver to do so. The program is donation-based with a suggested donation of $3 per meal.

Barbara Abrahamsen of Greenville recalled how the requirements were temporarily eased during the COVID pandemic so that more seniors received home-delivered meals.

“During COVID a lot of our seniors got Meals on Wheels which was really good for them,” she said. “When COVID eased up, several of our seniors who were getting these meals were told ‘you can get out and drive now so you don’t need Meals on Wheels.’ Meals on Wheels has nothing to do with driving, it has to do with being able to stand and handle pots and pans. The fact that I can drive shouldn’t interfere with that at all.”

A desire for fresher, healthier food was also expressed.

“Most of the time they are TV dinners, like frozen,” Cindy LaBelle of Greenville said. “It would be nice if once or twice a week they could have a fresh meal along with the frozen foods.”

“Instead of eating McDonald’s junk food, I’d rather have the ability for seniors to stay healthy into their older years by buying fresh food right from the farmers,” said another man who declined to give his name.

A program called Michigan Fresh is offered through Michigan State University Extension, which allows SNAP-Ed-eligible people to explore their local farmers markets where they can purchase affordable Michigan-grown produce. This program is offered in conjunction with the federal MyPlate program which educates about how to eat nutritiously on a budget (see accompanying info box for more details).

Seniors also shared their enjoyment of congregate meals which provide social opportunities. The Commission on Aging serves congregate meals four days a week in Howard City, twice a week in Carson City, Greenville and Stanton and once a week in Edmore. A suggested donation of $3 is requested (anyone younger than age 60 is also welcome to eat the meals for a suggested donation of $6.50).

The congregate meals are popular, and many seniors said they would like to see more meals offered per week along with accompanying social programs.

Gay Erskin lives in Greenville, but rather than going to the Greenville Area Senior Center, she attends senior gatherings at the Commission on Aging in Stanton.

“They have some very nice speakers and programs,” Erskin said. “Greenville doesn’t have a lot of that. They just have card-playing. It’d be easier for me to come here, a lot easier.”

“We would like to have more activities here and expand them because of the isolation issue,” LaBelle agreed.

Yvonne Johnson moved from Chelsea to the Howard City area about three years ago and she’s just starting to connect with local residents.

“Isolation is a problem for many,” she said. “There’s a lot of people with isolation out there because they can’t get out or connect. The senior center here doesn’t seem to have a lot going for it. I came from Chelsea, they have an extremely active senior center with woodworking, exercise, all kinds of classes. When we moved here, there’s not a lot of that.”

Deb Becker-Fountain of Pierson Township is the new president of the Howard City Senior Action Center and she connected with Johnson after that center’s listening session. The Howard City center offers multiple social events, but Becker-Fountain bemoaned how disconnected residents seem to be in Montcalm County’s Panhandle area (primarily Pierson, Reynolds and Winfield townships and Howard City).

“This side of Montcalm County seems to be like the desert, the Mojave Desert, because there are no programs in this area, there’s a few but they’re very limited and I don’t think they get communicated very well,” Becker-Fountain said. “I just met some people last night and they were not informed about the services offered by the Commission on Aging. I think we need to promote and get the word out. We need more things in this area, on this side of Montcalm County. It seems like we have a deep pocket in the Greenville area, and I don’t mean that negatively at all, but it just seems like that doesn’t come our way.”

As if to prove Becker-Fountain’s point: “I have no idea what they do,” a woman in the audience said of the Commission on Aging.

Becker-Fountain meets many people in her leadership capacity at the senior center, as well as by volunteering at community events, which she highly recommends for any seniors who are able.

“I think the more that people volunteer in their community, you learn things,” she said. “You meet a lot of people. I think the big thing is the lack of knowledge, people just not knowing what’s available out there.”

TRANSPORTATION

Many concerns about transportation were voiced, along with concerns about the Commission on Aging relying too much on volunteer drivers.

The county agency relies on volunteer drivers to provide rides for people 60 and older to medical appointments. At least three days notice is required to allow time for scheduling. The transportation service is free but donations are accepted to continue the service at its current level. The Commission on Aging also uses volunteer drivers to take seniors to local grocery stores or food pantries.

Those who have used the agency’s transportation services complained about how the three days notice requirement isn’t always convenient for a last-minute doctor’s appointment.

LaBelle, who has worked with a variety of senior citizen agencies, said the most robust agencies don’t rely on volunteers — they pay staff for more reliable services.

“Seniors are working at McDonald’s now,” LaBelle said. “We just don’t have a robust enough economy here in Montcalm County to support reliable volunteers.

“In the city of Greenville, they are having a population bump,” she added. “Manufacturing has basically left Montcalm County. These people who are living here now, they wanted to stay. There was a huge influx in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and Greenville almost went bankrupt when these big companies left, but a lot of people stayed because this is their home. A lot of these folks are high school graduates, they’re not college graduates, and this is their home. And now they’re aging and they want to stay here. We’re so lucky we have a great hospital in Greenville, but transportation is huge.”

The Greenville Transit System is available within the city of Greenville and Eureka Township at a reduced rate for seniors, but there’s no countywide transportation system — that was most recently attempted in 2011 with disastrous results. A vote for a countywide public transportation system funded by 0.3-mill failed by 61% to 39% in November 2011, leaving a group called the Montcalm County Transportation Authority with more than $11,000 of debt owed to the county and townships.

When Linda Weger of Eureka Township declared the Commission on Aging should “use some of that money they’ve got stashed away,” DaVita asked her how she would spend it.

“Somehow they need to get out and advertise better,” Weger said. “So many people do not know what’s going on in their own backyard. Volunteers, if you can tell me how to get a bunch of volunteers, I’d be thrilled, because by the time people retire, they’re tired.”

“The model of using volunteers is flawed in this community because the average income level is so low,” LaBelle agreed.

IN-HOME SERVICES

Most seniors weren’t aware that the Commission on Aging offers a variety of in-home services.

The agency’s homemaker program provides assistance with light housekeeping; the respite program provides short-term temporary care and supervision to people in their home, allowing the primary caregiver to take a break; and the personal care service provides help with personal hygiene needs, such as bathing/showering and hair care.

A nominal cost may be required for some of these services, but the Commission on Aging doesn’t turn anyone down due to inability to pay.

One woman shared how respite care for her husband four hours per week on Mondays allowed her to take some time for herself at no cost — just a donation.

“Otherwise I was tied down every day all day,” she said. “It gave me those hours to go out and go shopping or meet other people, just to get out.”

The Commission on Aging once offered an adult daycare program (such as what the Clay Street Center in Greenville offers now), but the county agency discontinued the program in September 2019 due to low participation.

LACK OF INFORMATION

According to discussion at the listening sessions, many seniors rely on social media to get their news, which many people agree is not a reliable source. Others said they get information from a monthly Commission on Aging newsletter, the Daily News, friends or church.

The Daily News publishes Commission on Aging news and events every Saturday under the “Senior Bulletin” header. While the Commission on Aging newsletter, known as “Montcalm County Senior News,” is packed with helpful information, only about 2,000 of the county’s 18,000 seniors receive the newsletter.

Ben Witbrodt runs the “Montcalm COA Partners” Facebook page to share information about resources for seniors. He asked those in attendance at the Howard City Senior Action Center how many of them receive the Commission on Aging newsletter — most hadn’t even heard of it.

“Everything’s in there, the meals, the programs for every month,” Witbrodt said. “You can also dial 2-1-1 with your questions and they can direct you to the proper source.”

“I didn’t know that,” multiple people responded.

“People just aren’t aware,” DaVita summarized. “If we don’t communicate and there’s not awareness, that’s where the core problems start.  There is a fundamental awareness component. You can have amazing services, but if people aren’t aware of them …”

Howard City Village Manager Mike Falcon referenced the “Howard City Informed” Facebook page, which he said often does more harm than good.

“The joke in my office is, a lot of times it’s ‘Howard City Uninformed,’” Falcon said. “If you want to know something, come to me, my door is always open. If I’m not there, I’ll call you back within 24 hours. A lot of these Facebook pages, they have about that much right information (here he gestured to show a tiny amount) and a lot of wrong information, and that’s where a lot of trouble starts.”

“Half of them don’t get newspapers anymore,” Weger said of seniors. “They use Facebook, if they have internet.”

Like Witbrodt, Abrahamsen, as the treasurer of the Greenville Area Senior Center, often refers seniors to 2-1-1, which provides information on local resources for food, shelter, utilities, transportation and more.

Even if some seniors are aware of services offered by the county, they may be reluctant to ask.

“Most of us do not like to reach out for help,” admitted a woman at the Howard City listening session. “I don’t know why.”

SAFETY & OTHER NEEDS

Concerns with another county agency were also discussed during the listening sessions.

Law enforcement coverage is an issue in the Howard City area, according to Becker-Fountain, president of the Howard City Senior Action Center.

“We are not fortunate enough to have a local police department here so we have our services from the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Department and several of the seniors in here have gone to Mike, our village manager, because the police, they call them but they don’t come or it takes them hours to come,” Becker-Fountain said. “People do not feel safe in the community. Police coverage is a big one. We do pay for it but I don’t think we get what we pay for.”

The Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office absorbed the Howard City Police Department in 2014 and Howard City and Reynolds Township have been contracting with the Sheriff’s Office for dedicated police protection ever since.

Sheriff Mike Williams in early 2023 eliminated one deputy from police protection contracts with Howard City and Reynolds Township, leaving only two deputies dedicated to covering that area and reducing the hours of coverage from 5,000 hours to 3,500 hours per year for the village of Howard City and from 1,040 hours to 500 hours per year for Reynolds Township. The sheriff cited difficulty filling his other law enforcement positions as the reason for the contract changes.

Other concerns that came up during the listening sessions included seniors’ need for help with chores such as mowing their lawn, shoveling snow, fix-it projects around the house and help with technology (especially computers and smart phones).

FINANCIAL NAVIGATION

The Commission on Aging offers assistance with doing taxes, as well as a Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program. LaBelle is a certified Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program counselor through the Commission on Aging and she said she currently has a backlog of people waiting to speak with her for assistance in navigating Medicare and Medicaid.

Again, LaBelle emphasized that this is an area where the Commission on Aging needs paid-for employees, not just volunteers.

“We really need a certified person at the Commission on Aging who can address those needs,” she said. “There’s a need all year round, when people turn 65 they’re not sure which plan to go with. It would be great if we could get someone to help us, also with Social Security issues.”

‘FREE, FUN & FOOD’

LaBelle was happy to hear about the community needs assessment and she attended several of the events herself.

“Montcalm County has a history of trying to keep the Commission on Aging small, and they’ve done that,” she said. “There’s about eight employees full-time. The rest of the programming is volunteers. They’ve made a concerted effort to keep it small.”

LaBelle noted that Montcalm County is home to about 4,000 military veterans, about half of whom are 65 or older. She said this fact should encourage the Commission on Aging to work closely with the Montcalm County Veterans Affairs Department.

LaBelle believes the Commission on Aging should focus more on grant writing to help expand programs.

“The Commission on Aging is not responsive to seniors’ needs,” she said. “All the libraries in the community here have picked up on many social issues, like workshops, first aid kits and other things because the Commission on Aging has decided to be small. The libraries throughout the county have picked up some of these social things that should really lie with the Commission on Aging.

“One of the things we see in Montcalm County is the silo effect — each organization does its own thing and there’s not a lot of cross cooperation between each agency,” LaBelle noted. “If you can reduce these blinders and reach out to have more cooperation with other programs, like the libraries and the health department and even commercial businesses, I think we could do better.

“Seniors love three things: Free, fun and food,” LaBelle summarized.

“I think you just came up with the new slogan,” DaVita laughed.

A closer look …

The Montcalm County Commission on Aging offers a variety of free or affordable services to local senior citizens, including:

CONGREGATE MEALS 

(Hot meals eaten alongside others while socializing)

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Senior Action Center, 132 E. Edgerton St., Howard City.

Mondays, Curtis Community Center, 209 Sheldon St., Edmore.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, United Methodist Church, 119 E. Elm St., Carson City.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Commission on Aging, 613 N. State St. Stanton.

Wednesdays and Thursdays, Greenville Area Senior Center, 715 S. Baldwin St., Greenville.
Call (989) 831-7476 option 1 the Monday prior to reserve your spot for any of these meals.

HOME-DELIVERED MEALS

Nutritious meals are delivered to the homes of eligible seniors in Montcalm County. Eligibility requires that the person be homebound, unable to prepare their own meals and lack a caregiver to provide meals. This is a donation based program, with a suggested donation of $3 per meal.
Seniors can learn more about Michigan Fresh, a program to encourage healthy and affordable eating by utilizing local farmers markets, at www.canr.msu.edu/mi_fresh or visit www.myplate.gov for tips on how to eat healthy, affordable foods.

IN-HOME SERVICES

The homemaker program provides assistance with light housekeeping; the respite program provides short-term temporary care and supervision to people in their home, allowing the primary caregiver to take a break; and the personal care service provides help with personal hygiene needs, such as bathing/showering and hair care. A nominal cost may be required for some of these services, but the Commission on Aging doesn’t turn anyone down due to inability to pay.

TRANSPORTATION

Volunteer drivers donate their time to provide rides to medical appointments. At least three days notice is needed to allow time for scheduling. Wheelchair transportation is available. There is no charge for this service, however, donations are accepted to continue the service at its current level. Rides are available for grocery shopping or food pantry visits as well.

MEDICARE/MEDICAID ASSISTANCE

Seniors with questions about Medicare or Medicaid can call 1-800-803-7174 or (989) 831-7476 to set up a local appointment.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Visual Support Group is the fourth Monday of each month at 1:30 p.m., a one-hour conference call run by the Association for the Blind. Call (701) 801-6449 for more information.

Weight Loss Support Group is every Monday at 10 a.m. at the Commission on Aging in Stanton. Call (989) 831-7476 option 4 for more information.

Caregiver Support Group is the first Thursday of every month at 1 p.m. at the Commission on Aging in Stanton, presented by Alzheimer’s Association. This group is for anyone caring for a loved one, or for someone with Alzheimer’s/dementia. A free lunch is offered at noon before the meeting. Call (989) 831-7476 option 3 for more information.

WEEKLY SOCIAL EVENTS

The Commission on Aging in Stanton offers beginners and advanced tai chi on Tuesdays (May 21-July 16), yarn stitch group on Wednesdays, a paraffin hand dip on Tuesdays, as well as bingo, musical events and historical presentations on various dates. Also: Walking Club and Hiking Club on Mondays at Montcalm Community College in Sidney.

The Greenville Area Senior Center hosts Zumba, Senior Moment Cafe and euchre on Tuesdays, penny bingo on Wednesdays and stamping class and cards on Thursdays.

The Howard City Senior Action Center offers bingo on Tuesdays and Thursdays, euchre on Wednesdays ($5 entry fee), music on Fridays ($2 donation for potluck with a dish to pass or $4 donation without a dish to pass) and Craft Day at Tamarack Creek Apartments on second Saturdays.

Carson City United Methodist Church hosts Skip-Bo on Tuesdays and bingo on Thursdays.

The Curtis Community Center hosts a euchre tournament on Mondays.

Mothers Day pampering with a Mary Kay representative on May 10, lunch at McKenna’s in Lakeview, a visit to the Fred Meijer Gardens followed by shopping in downtown Rockford on July 17 and a trip to Grand Ledge for lunch and shopping on Aug. 14 are just a few examples of upcoming fun days out offered by the Commission on Aging as well.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Many opportunities are available to people who enjoy helping senior citizens. These include participating in a yarn stitch group, the Friendly Visitor program, office volunteers, driver volunteers and kitchen volunteers.

Call (989) 831-7476 or visit montcalm.us/169/Commission-on-Aging for more information about services offered by Montcalm County to senior citizens.