Area Agency on Aging Celebrates Older Americans Month May 2021: Communities of Strength
Area Agency on Aging of East Texas • April 28, 2021
Each May, the Administration for Community Living
leads the nationwide celebration of Older Americans Month (OAM). This year's theme is Communities of Strength, recognizing the vital role older adults play in fostering the connection and engagement that build strong, resilient communities.
Working with our local seniors, the Area Agency on Aging of East Texas (AAA) will celebrate OAM by encouraging East Texas seniors to share their experiences. Together, we can find strength—and create a stronger future.
Here are some ways to share and connect:
- Look for joy in every day: Celebrate small moments and ordinary pleasures by taking time to recognize them. Start a gratitude journal and share it with others via social media or call a friend or family member to share a happy moment or to say thank you.
- Reach out to neighbors: Even if you can't get together in person right now, you can still connect with your neighbors. Leave a small gift on their doorstep, offer to help with outdoor chores, or deliver a homecooked meal.
- Build new skills: Learning something new allows us to practice overcoming challenges. Take an art course online or try a socially distanced outdoor movement class to enjoy learning with others in your community. Have a skill to share? Find an opportunity to teach someone, even casually.
- Share your story: There's a reason storytelling is a time-honored activity. Hearing how others experience the world helps us grow. Interviewing family, friends, and neighbors can open up new conversations and strengthen our connections.
"When people of different ages, backgrounds, abilities, and talents share experiences—through action, story, or service—we help build strong communities. And that's something to celebrate!" said AAA Director Bettye Mitchell. "Please join the AAA in strengthening our community – get moving, walk, stretch, or exercise with consultation with your doctor. Inspire. Encourage. Renew. Restore. Find ways to share, connect, and engage."
Throughout the month, the AAA will conduct activities and share information designed to highlight local programs and services available to help strengthen our senior community. We encourage seniors to get involved by attending one of our virtual health and wellness classes. These 1-2 hour workshops offer proven practices to aid in diabetes management, chronic disease management, fall prevention, and more. Register at www.easttexasaaa.org/health-and-wellness.
The AAA is also working in partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to provide opioid misuse and prevention services for older adults. These services include awareness of medication management, storage, safe disposal, and intervention health and wellness classes.
Follow the AAA on social media, where we will share the story of several inspiring local seniors this month and information about benefits counseling services and avoiding scams. For more information, follow us on social media
or call 1-800-442-8845.
The Area Agency on Aging of East Texas is partnering with First Christian Church in Jacksonville to offer a free Benefits & Estate Planning Presentation for Seniors and Caregivers. The informative workshop will be held Thursday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at the First Christian Church Sanctuary, 1920 Beaumont Street in Jacksonville. Presented by Paul Zambie, Managing Attorney with Texas Legal Services Center, the session will help attendees better understand legal and planning issues that can affect older adults and their families. Topics will include wills and trusts, deeds, transfer-on-death deeds, long-term care Medicaid, Medicaid estate recovery, and senior services. This free presentation is designed to give seniors and caregivers practical information to help prepare for life’s challenges and make informed decisions about the future. For more information, contact the Area Agency on Aging of East Texas at 903-218-6500 or 1-800-442-8845.
This summer, ETCOG Director of Aging Programs Adrian Cornejo welcomed an extraordinary experience into his home through his volunteer work with Creating Friendships for Peace (CFP). For one month, Adrian hosted two students from Cyprus, Michael and Derin, who came to East Texas through the CFP program. During their stay, the students shared a room in Adrian’s home, experienced daily life in the region, shadowed Adrian at ETCOG, and attended an ETCOG Executive Committee meeting. Creating Friendships for Peace brings young people from communities affected by longstanding divisions together for cultural exchange, dialogue, and relationship-building. Cyprus has been divided for decades between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, with a history of conflict and mistrust that can shape how young people see those from the other side of the island. Adrian said the experience gave him a deeply personal view of how division can affect young people and how meaningful it can be when they have the opportunity to connect outside of those divisions. “What I witnessed through these young men was difficult to process,” Adrian said. “Each of their societies has, in different ways, instilled distrust, division, and even hatred toward people on the ‘other side.’ Perhaps the most heartbreaking part is hearing that this begins when they are children.” Through his involvement with CFP, Adrian also hosted two young men from Israel for a few days, one Jewish Israeli and one Arab Israeli, who similarly came from communities shaped by complex social and political divisions. “This is not a political story,” Adrian said. “It is a personal reflection on what has been one of the most emotional and humbling experiences of my life. Hearing the students’ experiences made me realize just how much we take for granted here in the United States,” he said. “We have the freedom to think, to question, and to decide for ourselves what we believe and how we treat others.” For Michael and Derin, their time in East Texas offered an opportunity to see a different community, to witness regional collaboration in action as our elected officials voted on ETCOG business, and to build friendships beyond the boundaries and assumptions they may encounter at home. “I think words are too little to describe the last four weeks,” said Michael. “This month we became a family. I was talking with Derin, and I told him it feels like we are packing to go to vacation, not home.” “I want to thank Mr. Adrian for hosting us and being part of our destiny in this trip,” said Darin. “You are very hard working and care about us. I am very grateful for you taking us to San Antonio trip, for your work, and giving us opportunities to meet wonderful people…I wish to mature up and become a person like you one day wh helps everyone like you do.” Adrian said the friendships formed through CFP demonstrate that meaningful change often starts on a personal level. “Peace doesn’t begin with governments or political agreements,” Adrian said. “Sometimes, it begins with a conversation, a friendship, and the willingness to see another person as a human being rather than as a representative of ‘the other side.’” He added that he is grateful for the friendships and perspectives the students brought into his life. “I will carry their stories, their friendship, and what I learned from them with me for a very long time,” Adrian said. ETCOG is proud to recognize Adrian’s commitment to service and his willingness to share both his home and workplace with students participating in this important exchange for peace.
