About 70 senior adults visited the Jacksonville Community Center on Nov. 12 to learn how to protect themselves and prepare for their future.Assistant Police Chief Bill Wineman walked the groups through ways to avoid being victims of identity theft, warning them of things they may do every day without realizing the risk they are taking – like leaving their purse or wallet unattended.
“Identity theft is the fastest growing crime - $50 billion last year,” said Wineman, stressing the important of carefully guarding personal information.
Denise Rucker, the director for Calhoun County Retired Senior Volunteer Program urged the participants to stay active, telling them that volunteering in their community was one of the best ways to keep moving and stay healthy.
“We’ve helped Habitat build houses,” said Rucker. “When the Anniston museum had the T-rex here, if you went there was probably an RSVP volunteer working while you were there.”
Rucker also told the groups about RSVP programs that can help them as well, such as their annual income tax service.
Legal issues, such as wills, powers of attorney and other issues of importance to the future security of each participant were covered by Kevin Crenshaw of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. He handed out a packet of information to each senior and urged them to contact the Area Agency on Aging, where an attorney is available for them, if they have any legal questions.
“There are some things in life that are an ‘if this happens I’ve got this in place,’ others are ‘when this happens,’” Crenshaw said as he told stories from his own experience to show the importance of leaving a will and making sure other legal documents are in order.
A “planning ahead” session in one room urged the seniors to think through their final arrangements, saving their loved ones from the stress of going through the process.
Over in the Senior Center, booths were set up around the room providing the groups with information on nutrition, the Jacksonville Public Library, Jacksonville Medical Center and other services in the area.
Nursing students from Jacksonville State University were also on hand in the Senior Center performing blood pressure checks.
A circle of chairs took up the middle of the large multi-purpose room in the Senior Center where the groups of seniors could gather to learn about proper nutrition and practiced chair exercises.
“When Janis and I met, when looked at all the successful aging programs that we have had throughout the state of Alabama and she and I looked at what we thought would work for our seniors in our area,” Marchale Burton of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, who helped plan the event with Parks and Recreation Director Janis Burns.
