If you do catch Alice La Pert rocking, the 87-year-old won’t be in a chair. More likely, you would spot the Downers Grove Township resident rocking, slide-stepping or sashaying at her twice-weekly line-dance class.
“It’s wonderful fun,” said La Pert, who revels in her vibrant post-retirement life. “There are not enough days in the week or hours in the day.”
The former high school teacher credits a positive outlook, good genes and regular exercise with allowing her to thrive in her golden years. But she admits to having one more secret weapon: a fountain of youth that involves neither a face-lift nor a rejuvenating seaweed wrap. Instead, La Pert keeps healthy, social and independent with the help of Downers Grove Township’s Dial-A-Ride program.
“It’s a godsend,” she said of the popular service. “Cabs are so expensive, so for a little lady on a pension, I wouldn’t get around. I’d be immobilized.”
But at just $1.50 per one-way ride, La Pert finds the program both reliable and affordable for trips to the grocery, beauty salon, physician’s office and, of course, dance class.
And in Downers Grove and Woodridge, seniors like La Pert can tap into many other such programs that support and enhance their lives.
In fact, with a growing population of seniors, and medical advances that are keeping people healthier longer, area service providers are re-examining existing programs and looking toward the future.
Although current census figures for the area are not yet available, recent county figures indicate growth even before the earliest Baby Boomers reach age 55 next year. In 1990, DuPage County had about 125,700 residents age 55 and older and, in 1998, that population had climbed to about 146,500.
Signs of that growth are evident. In Woodridge, for example, the Park District’s weekly Golden Years recreation program is adding new members each month.
“We have over 100 members now, and 70 attend on a regular basis,” said Don Ritter, superintendent of recreation. “Two or three years ago, we didn’t have a lot of 55- to 60-year-olds, but now we’re getting more 50-somethings. And we’re finding that once a week for three hours doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s making us look at the whole program to plan for the future.”
Some 12,000 households with older people regularly receive the Downers Grove Township senior services newsletter. According to Hanna Benioff, coordinator of senior citizen services, the office’s most common request involves caregiver support, an indicator that people are living longer.
“It’s a growing need,” Benioff said. “Caregivers need help. And often a senior is also a caregiver. It’s especially hard on the spouse who is also old and not in good health. It’s heart-wrenching sometimes.”
In Downers Grove, Barb Leiber, director of the Department of Social and Health Services, has noticed more families asking for assistance in finding resources for their elderly parents.
“We’ve seen that seniors definitely strive to maintain their independence as long as possible,” Leiber said. “And people can probably stay independent longer if they allow themselves to hook into the services that are available to them rather than feeling that asking for help is a form of weakness. It’s really a responsible thing to do in maintaining their independence. Help is available. DuPage County is very rich in information and resources.”
In fact, Leiber’s office publishes an annual Senior Citizen Resource Guide, the latest of which includes 25 pages of information on adult day-care opportunities, social and counseling services and transportation options, such as Dial-A-Ride. The free booklet is available at the Downers Grove Village Hall, the Park District and other community facilities.
In the area of housing, Senior Home Sharing Inc., a Lombard-based organization, oversees five DuPage County homes shared by senior residents. One of them is in Downers Grove, where, for $1,035 a month, residents get a private bedroom, meals and the company of others. Home maintenance is also provided.
“Probably the biggest thing they are offered is companionship. It’s just much better than spending hours and hours alone. It’s healthier,” said Mary Eleanor Wall, executive director of Senior Home Sharing Inc. “The residents support one another with their friendships, and it’s just a very dignified, comfortable way to live.”
When it comes to safety, two prevention-based programs are going strong in Downers Grove Township. Seniors and Lawmen Together (SALT) is a communitywide consortium including representatives of the Police and Fire Departments, parks, medical community and senior organizations. SALT offers seniors a 10-session series of lectures known as the “Senior Citizen Police Academy.” Fire safety, crime prevention and tips on how to avoid becoming a victim are included.
SALT’s second program is “File of Life.” For $1, residents can obtain an emergency medical card and magnetic red plastic sleeve. The card is filled out, slipped into the sleeve and mounted on the refrigerator.
“All of our police and fire people are trained to first look on the refrigerator, so when they arrive on the scene of an emergency, they have the information immediately available,” Benioff said.
For household upkeep and repair, the Village of Downers Grove offers a home chore program. “It’s a kind of matching service where we match willing residents to do tasks like cleaning, washing windows or doing yard work,” Leiber said. “Some of the work is done for a fee, but if they have financial limitations, we can attempt to find volunteers to help. We have done that also.”
Overall, a helping hand is the goal, whether it be in the form of a short-term wheelchair loan through the Downers Grove Medical Loan Closet, finding someone to clean gutters from Downers Grove Home Chore or arranging for weekly rides to Jewel through the Woodridge Subsidized Taxi Program or Dial-A-Ride.
Because for seniors, access to services may be the key to healthier, happier years.
“The whole secret is keeping active. Even if you don’t want to do it, you get up and do it,” La Pert said. “We were all tremendously independent in our own day, and to lose that means the alternative could be sitting at home watching the soaps–and that’s not my thing. No way.”
SENIOR CITIZEN RESOURCES FOR DOWNERS GROVE, WOODRIDGE
DuPage County Department of Human Resources, Senior Services: 630-682-7000. Toll-free outside of the area, 800-942-9412. Offers a Senior Citizen Resource Guide, home delivered meals, a comprehensive list of retirement housing options, shared housing information, respite care referrals, and other assistance.
Illinois Department on Aging: 217-785-2870. Senior toll-free help line, 800-252-8966. In-home, community-based services and programs.
DuPage Senior Citizens Council: 630-620-0804. Advocacy, home maintenance and other programs.
Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Kankakee: 815-939-0727 or toll-free, 800-528-2000; West Chicago office, 630-293-5990. Oversees a network of senior services for those 60 and older in an eight-county region, which includes DuPage.
Community House Inc.: 630-323-7500. Offers programs of interest for seniors.
Downers Grove Township Division of Human Services: 630-968-6408. Information and referral for issues related to transportation, housing, financial assistance, home health care and more.
Village of Downers Grove Department of Health and Human Resources: 630-434-5595. For information and referral, counseling services and a free short-term medical loan closet. Also the “Are You Okay?” computer monitoring service. Free Senior Citizen Resource Guide.
College of DuPage, Older Adult Institute: 630-942-2700. Classes held at DuPage County sites, including Downers Grove and Downers Grove Township.
Downers Grove Park District Senior Center: 630-963-1314. Meals provided for seniors daily. Cost based on ability to pay. Weekday recreation from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Defensive driving instruction.
Woodridge Community Center: 630-964-2100. Park District recreation, 630-985-0300. Park District Golden Years program.
Senior Home Sharing Inc.: 630-629-5599. Affordable maintenance-free home living with other seniors.
Illinois Attorney General, Senior Citizen Division: 800-243-5377. Legal assistance.
Metropolitan Family Service, DuPage: 630-682-1802. Counseling and legal options for seniors.
Caregivers Support and Education: 800-323-8622. An advisory service of Good Samaritan Hospital’s Advocate Health Care systems.
Downers Grove Township Dial-A-Ride: 630-968-6408. Weekday transportation service for residents 65 and older. Advance reservation and tickets required. Fare $1.50.
Subsidized Taxi Service: Downers Grove, 630-434-5504; Woodridge, 630-852-7000.
