To the editor:
Forty percent of older Mainers live alone and do not have family or friends to assist them with their monthly budgeting/bill paying process. Many are affected with a form of dementia, one of the first symptoms of financial difficulty due to loss of abstract thinking. Others may suffer with depression, stroke, poor vision or loss of a spouse who took care of the financial affairs, and they have no idea where to begin.
Money Minders is a program that uses volunteers to prolong independent living for seniors who are at risk because of their inability to manage their finances and have no family or friends to help them.
Often, elders are taken advantage of financially by those close to them. Once the money and assets are gone, it’s almost impossible to get them back. Money Minders can have an impartial, trusted volunteer to help those people manage their bills and balance their checkbook, reducing the opportunity for exploitation.
LR 796 is proposed legislation under consideration by the Maine Legislature to help continue this program. It will provide Agencies on Aging statewide with a small amount of funding to provide financial management services to older adults in need. Talk to your legislators and let them know how important it is to the independence, safety and peace of mind of our seniors.
Carol Fitzherbert,
Money Minders coordinator
Brenda Barker,
director of community services
Aroostook Agency on Aging
