1 40, 4,7.44.•

60 Friday, January 6, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Senior Fitness Among Services to Elderly from Federation Units

It's called "Super Senior
Fitness" and on a recent
snowy Wednesday morning,
nearly 40 senior adults
braved the elements to bend
and stretch to the exercise
routine at the Jewish Com-
munity Center's Jimmy
Prentis Morris Branch in
Oak Park.
Sitting in chairs, they
formed a circle around
teacher Ada Bandalene, fol-
lowing her instructions to
"bend forward," "lean to the
right," "reach for the ceil-
ing," and "grasp your hand
weights.''' Class members,
many of whom were wear-
ing their "Super Senior Fit-
ness" T-shirts, responded
with enthusiasm.
Not far away — at Sinai
Hospital of Detroit — a
group of Jewish Vocational
Service Senior Service
Corps volunteers met over
lunch to chat. Corps mem-
bers perform a variety of

duties at Sinai, including
visiting new mothers
and their infants, and, as-
sembling kits for new
patients.
Across town, an elderly
woman waited in her
apartment for the Meals
on Wheels volunteer to
bring her two kosher me-
als. Meals on Wheels, a
joint program of the
Jewish Family Service
and National Council of
Jewish Women, cur-
rently supplies two
kosher meals daily to 160
persons who live inde-
pendently but are unable
to cook for themselves.
These are just a few of the
services for senior citizens
available in this community
through the Jewish Welfare
Federation and its agencies,
supported by the Allied
Jewish Campaign. Addi-
tionally, government fund-
ing through the Area

Agency on Aging 1-B has
made it possible to assist
greater numbers of people
in the community.
The Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration's Task Force on
Community-Based Services
to the Non-Institutionalized
Elderly, under the chair-
manship of Dr. Conrad L.
Giles, is responsible for
assessing the service needs
of the non-institutionalized
elderly, focusing its atten-
tion on the provision of sup-
port services. The task force
is working to supplement
and encourage inter-agency
support systems, designed
to improve the quality of life
and maintain individuals in
independent living situa-
tions for as long as possible.
A third of the clients
served by the Jewish Fam-
ily Service are age 60 or
over. JFS volunteers run er-
rands, make friendly phone
calls, and visit elderly nurs-

.ing home residents. There is countants — and all others
port this community
a homemaker service — re- with a special skill, hobby,
pledges each year to the AL
cently boosted by govern- or interest, are encouraged lied Jewish Campaign
ment funding from the Area to call the Center for more which is disbursed to the 16
Agency on Aging 1-B which information.
member agencies of the
helps maintain older per-
The Center is also looking Jewish Welfare Federation.
sons in their own homes.
for elderly adults for its new
Some ways to become in-
The "heart and soul" of "Project Outreach," a corn-
volved:
JFS is counseling. JFS munity outreach program
• Interested in the Senior
counselors help senior supported by an Area Service Corps or Senior
adults with marital and Agency on Aging 1-B grant. Adult Workshop? Call the
stress-related problems; Senior adult volunteers will JVS, 967-0500.
there's also a long-term introduce isolated seniors to
• Would you like to dis-
therapy group for the the many social, cultural cuss your problems with a
aged. Besides, senior citi- and educational oppor- trained counselor? Maybe
zens are part of the tunities available to them.
you'd like more details on
three-generation family
Meals and Wheels? Contact -
All
Jewish
Welfare
counseling process that's
the JFS, 559-1500.
Federation-sponsored
sometimes employed to
• How about joining the li
programs, such as those
solve family problems.
activity at the Jewish
highlighted
above,
are
JFS also helps with advo-
Community
Center's
cacy on behalf of elderly provided on a sliding fee Jimmy Prentis Morris
scale,
based
on
ability
to
clients who are on marginal
Branch? For information,
incomes by helping them pay.
call the Morris Branch,
know what benefits they're
That's because of the sup- 967-4030.
entitled to, and by helping
them fight obstacles in their
way.
Sometimes, retired per-
sons find themselves with
time on their hands, willing
and eager to perform serv-
ices, either for pay or on a
volunteer basis. That's
where the Jewish Voca-
tional Service steps in.
The JVS-sponsored
Senior Service Corps volun-
teers currently number al-
most 50. Corps members —
average age of 75 — are
placed at a number of non-
"Super Seniors," from left, Ethel Silber, Charles
profit agencies in the com-
Driker and Fay Plotnick concentrate on "Super
munity. Corps participation
Senior Fitness," an exercise class for older adults at
means meaningful commu-
the Jewish Community Center's Jimmy Prentis Mor
ris Branch.
nity service, as well as a
chance to form new friend-
ships and support systems.
Another JVS program
for older adults is the
17515 W. 9 Mile Rd.
Senior Adult Workshop,
in which men and women
Suite 865
over age 60 are provided
with work, subcon-
Southfield, Mich. 48075
tracted from local agen-
cies, for which they are
paid. Workshop partici-
pants find companion-
ship and independelice.
They also participate in a
physical education pro-
gram and meet with a
registered nurse for pre-
ventive medicine tips and
monitoring.

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The Jewish Community
Center in Oak Park is a hub
of activity for seniors from
nearby neighborhoods and
the Jewish Federation
Apartments. The multitude
of activities include_s folk
dancing, an Israeli movie
series, woodworking and art
instruction, a choral group,
a book club, Hebrew and
Yiddish instruction, and
much more. There is also a
special kosher meal pro-
gram, supported by an Area
Agency on Aging 1-B grant
and provided through the
Oakland-Livingston
Human Services Agency.
One of the newer and
more exciting activities at
the Center is "Seniors Help-
ing Seniors," another pro-
gram supported by an Area
Agency on Aging 1-B grant.
The program involves older
adults sharing their talents
and acquired skills to teach
others who are eager to
learn. It's an exciting pro-
gram, one with unlimited
possibilities. Retirees —
musicians, carpenters,
physicians, lawyers, ac-

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