Age-Friendly Advocacy 101
Tuesday, May 5, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - At the Capitol
A FREE workshop presented by the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging. Are you interested in being a champion for positive change in your community? Do you want to have a greater impact in your legislative advocacy? This FREE training will help you gain knowledge, skills and confidence to engage effectively with Minnesota policymakers on aging issues. Learn more/Register
Living Independently with Hearing Loss video chat
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
OR
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (1 CEU for Social Workers, Nurses and other providers available)
Join this chat to learn more about:
How to make communication easier.
What assistive technology you can use.
How to request accommodations.
What the laws say about access.
How Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division can help.
Who should attend?
People with hearing loss
Family members and friends
Caregivers
Social workers
Nurses
Other service providers
Registration is free: online registration form. Please register by April 4, 2023.
For more information: MN Dept. of Human Services Deaf and Hard of Hearing Division
Up to 375,000 Minnesotans may lose Medicaid coverage within year
Help families remember to UPDATE THEIR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE or Minnesota Care. Beginning April 1st, 2023, the annual renewal process will restart for Medical Assistance (Minnesota’s Medicaid program). Renewals were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, however they must restart according to federal law. Renewals will take place based on the anniversary month of the enrollee’s application for coverage. Renewal letters will be sent out in the mail, so it is important to prepare by having updated contact information on file with their county.
DHS has updated a website with all the information about redeterminations and renewals. They also have a communications toolkit with some flyers and they list specific proofs needed to prepare.
Join FREE Aging with Gusto workshop in April
The Vital Aging Network is offering a FREE, three-session, in-person:
Aging with Gusto workshop series
Mondays April 10, 17, 24, from 6-7:30 pm.
Oakdale Public Library, 1010 Heron Ave N, Oakdale
Register at https://washcolib.libcal.com/event/10500210.
Contact Jan Cunningham, Aging with Gusto's program coordinator, at jancunninghamAWG@gmail.com for information about scheduling an Aging with Gusto OR Confronting Aging workshop for your group. Both workshops are available in person or virtually via Zoom. Confronting Aging workshops are one-session events also led by trained facilitators, that guide you and your group through activities that explore the roots and impacts of ageism and create opportunities for you to discover ways to combat it.
Resources for Caregivers of Veterans
National VA Caregiver Support Line (CSL Fact Sheet PDF) & Local Caregiver Support Team
1-855-260-3274 (toll-free) M – F, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., Sat, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET
VA's National Caregiver Support Line is a toll-free number for caregivers, family members, friends, Veterans, and community partners to contact for information related to caregiving and available supports and services. Call VA’s Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274 to learn more about the support that is available to you and for assistance connecting with the
Minneapolis Caregiver Support Team, at the local VA Medical Center, which offers many services to family members and friends who care for Veterans, including on-line courses, telephone support, peer support and information and referrals to help navigate VA health care and to support caregivers of veterans.
The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes
Each year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition measures the availability of rental housing affordable to extremely low-income households and other income groups…The Gap presents data on the affordable housing supply and housing cost burdens at the national, state, and metropolitan levels. The report also examines the demographics, disability and work status, and other characteristics of the extremely low-income households most impacted by the national shortage of affordable and available rental homes.
Results to note:
In Minnesota, just 38 affordable and available homes exist for every 100 renter households with extremely low incomes. As a result of this shortage of affordable homes, 66% of extremely low-income renter households in Minnesota are severely housing cost-burdened, spending more than half of their limited incomes on housing.
Forty-eight percent of renter householders with extremely low incomes are seniors or householders with disabilities.
Severely cost burdened poor households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent, and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions.
The full Gap report and interactive map are available at: https://nlihc.org/gap.