Elder AffairsThe Department of Elder Affairs/Council on Aging (COA) works to improve and enhance the quality of life for elder residents in Springfield. It advocates, plans, develops, coordinates and provides social services as well as information and referral services for Springfield's elder citizens.  Programs OfferedGood Life Center- Administrative Offices
HUNGRY HILL CENTERNew photos from Hungry Hill Center as "normal" activities resume following the Center's use as shelter from the storms of this past summer. Click HERE to go to the page for Hungry Hill Center, to see the photos. AARP TAX-AIDE PROGRAM for 2012 Tax SeasonAARP TAX-AIDE Program Sites and Schedules:BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Good Life Center1600 East Columbus Ave in the Adult Computer Learning Center - 2nd Floor For an appointment call - 787-6785 Appointments are Thursdays only - starting Thursday February 2nd and ending Thursday April 5th. One hour appointments scheduled as follows:
Greenleaf Community Center1187 1/2 Parker Street For an appointment call - 750-2873 Appointments will be Tuesday and Wednesday every week starting on Tuesday January 31st and ending on Wednesday Aprill 11th. One hour appointments scheduled as follows:
AARP names Springfield one of best small cities for retirementClick HERE to read the story. the Mason Square Food Justice Initiative needs your help!The JUST FOOD Initiative - The StoryTHE SITUATION Mason Square residents, by and large, have challenges meeting basic living needs. THE NEED Mason Square literally has no place to go year round to purchase quality, affordable food. It is a "Food Desert." Neighborhood residents, especially those without transportation (which is NOT an insignificant number) are forced to purchase "groceries" from a local CVS. This contributes significantly to the "The Situation." THE RESPONSE The Mason Square Food Justice Initiative, along with the Mason Square community at large, is working together to bring in a full service grocery store so that ultimately, Mason Square residents can feed their families high quality, fresh foods. CALL TO ACTION Grocery chains want to site their stores where people have money to spend. We want to demonstrate the purchasing power of the Mason Square community in a practical, yet powerfully symbolic way. We're inviting residents in Mason Square and surrounding neighborhoods to save their grocery receipts. HOW YOU CAN HELP Please read the entire story in the PDF document HERE Please print and post the PDF flier located HERE
IMPORTANT Medicare Enrollment InformationCan I still change my Medicare Plan?The 2011 Medicare Open Enrollment period ended on December 7, but there are still a few changes you can make, if you qualify. For those with a Medicare Advantage Plan: Between January 1 and February 14, you can leave your plan and switch to Original Medicare, but you cannot switch to another Medicare Advantage Plan. Your Original Medicare coverage will begin the first day of the following month. If you drop your Medicare Advantage plan during this period, you will be able to join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan to add drug coverage. Your prescription drug coverage will begin the first day of the month after your enrollment. You may also add a Medigap at this time. And new this year, you could also switch to Health New England at any time during 2012 because HNE received a 5 Star Rating from Medicare. For those with Prescription Advantage or getting "Extra Help" paying for prescription drugs: You can change your plan anytime during the year. Those with Prescription Advantage can do this only once each year. Those with “Extra Help” can change every month. Trained SHINE (Serving Health Information Needs of Elders) volunteers can help you! They offer free, confidential counseling on all aspects of health insurance to anyone on Medicare. Call your senior center and ask for a SHINE appointment. You can also call 413-750-2893. Once you get the SHINE answering machine, leave your name and number. A volunteer will call you back, as soon as possible
WWLP22 video of Medicare Open Enrollment presentation at Riverview Senior Center - click hereThe Republican newspaper story is here
Massachusetts Senior Legal HelplineClick the flyer above to download a PDF for printing in English Click here to download a PDF for printing in French Click here to download a PDF for printing in Portuguese Click here to download a PDF for printing in Russian Click here to download a PDF for printing in Spanish Mobile Farmer's Market has begun!The first tour of the Enterprise Farm Mobile Market made a successful visit to area centers. Excellent quality fresh produce is being brought to you at great prices! The Mobile Market will happen every Wednesday throughout the summer at the following locations:
SNAP benefits are welcomed. Click HERE for more information, schedules and to see photos of the first round. Click HERE to see a newsclip from WWLP 22 NEWS Borrow an e-Reader from the LibraryThe Springfield City Library system will start lending Sony eReaders to city patrons age 55 and older. This is a great opportunity to assist our seniors with obtaining easy-to-use eReaders that are preloaded with many recent and popular titles for mystery, suspense, Christian, historical fiction and love stories. And it's FREE to use on loan from the Library. Imagine, no need to lug heavy books around! Click this eReader link for more information in PDF format. Hungry Hill Center Celebrates St. Patrick's Day 2011
Important Advisory - H1N1 "Swine" FluLatest H1N1 information from the Springfield Department of Health
Emergency PreparednessThe city’s instant notification system is automatically set to call residents’ home phone or the main number of a Springfield business in case of an emergency. To sign up for this service, click here for the Instant Notification Link. Springfield Star NewsletterThe Department of Elder Affairs newsletter "The Springfield Star" is available here in .pdf format.
CLICK HERE to link to the Springfield Newspaper The Republican Spanish publication El Pueblo Latino Recent ActivitiesSeniors enjoying activities around the City. Patsy Cline Tribute at Greenleaf Center 2011Veterans' Recognition Luncheon 2010 Heart and Soul Affair at The Good Life Center Pine Point Center "A Morning of Glamour" Don't see photos from your favorite Senior Center or activity? Check the web page for the Center you enjoy. There are additional photos posted for each Senior Center on their separate webpage. |
Janet Rodriguez Denney, Director of Elder Affairs for the City of Springfield, Mass.1600 East Columbus Ave. |
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Page last updated: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 09:47 am