​The Montgomery County Commission on Aging will join in the celebration of May as “Older Americans Month” by hosting its annual free forum on Thursday, May 4, at the Bohrer Park Activity Center in Gaithersburg. This year’s theme is “Smart Homes—Smarter Care: Technology that Supports Aging in Place” and it will be held during the City of Gaithersburg’s Active Aging Expo.

The forum will be held from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Bohrer Park, which is located at 506 South Frederick Road in Gaithersburg. The event also will be available virtually through Zoom. Although the event is free, registration is encouraged. Register at https://tinyurl.com/CoA2023PublicForum.

Residents, caregivers, advocates, policy analysts and service providers are encouraged to attend. Presenters and panelists will describe technologies that are available and suggest actions that can be taken in Montgomery County to expand their use to support aging in-place. Featured speakers are recognized experts in the field, including Scott Code, vice president of the Center for Aging Services Technologies.

“There is an ever-growing market of new devices that can be used to assist older adults, especially those in need of caregiving, with an array of services including health care monitoring, remote care giving, in-home safety and security, family connection, education, rides and social interaction.,” said David Engel, chair of the Commission on Aging. “Advancing knowledge of these new electronic in-home devices and their applications in Montgomery County is the primary goal behind the Commission’s ‘Smart Homes –Smarter Care’ initiatives.”

The event will offer insights into how ‘Smart Homes—Smarter Care’ devices can enable doctors and caregivers to remotely monitor a patient’s vital signs, signal remote alerts, monitor mental and physical states in real time, and provide rapid intervention when the situation is warranted.

Aging in place can mean staying in the same house an individual has lived in for years and it can mean staying in a neighborhood setting for as long as possible—safely and independently. Physical impairments increase as individuals age, and smart homes solutions can help support older adults to maintain their independence as long as they can.

For more information or to request accommodations needed to participate, contact Tremayne Jones with as much advance notice as possible, preferably at least four business days prior to the event, at [email protected] or at 240-777-1262.

For more information about the Commission on Aging, visit its website.

Villages are local, geographically-centered, volunteer-led organizations that bring people together and coordinate volunteer help to support aging-in-place using a neighbor-helping-neighbor model. Villages create a space for members to stay connected, engaged, and active in the community. 
Examples of how village volunteers support their members may include:

• Social activities and friendly visits to reduce isolation
• Light home chores after a hospitalization
• Picking up prescriptions and transportation to medical appointments

Suburban Hospital promotes healthy aging through a portfolio of comprehensive initiatives, programs, events, and classes. In 2016, Suburban further enhanced its support of aging initiatives by establishing the Village Ambassador Alliance (VAA). Its goal is to advance the common mission of helping community members successfully age-in-place.
The Village Ambassador Alliance has created a space for Villages to support health and well-being through: creating communication channels, delivering health education and training, and the effective utilization of community resources. Since its inception, the VAA has issued two rounds of Wellness Grant funding and offered six forums during which speakers from specialty health fields provided educational lectures in support of topics to help adults age independently and gracefully in their own homes. 
Examples of forum topics are below. 

• What Is a Hospitalist?
• What to Expect During a Hospital Stay?
• Redefining Aging
• Embrace Your Age
• Rethinking How We Age
• Neurology of Loss

Suburban Hospital invites any new or existing Village to join the Village Ambassador Alliance. One to two members of Village leadership will be included on a VAA listserv to stay connected to upcoming events and resources, and may share those resources widely with their members. If interested, please contact Kate McGrail. 
In addition to Suburban Hospital’s Village Ambassador Alliance, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services has a robust set of resources on the Village movement in the county. If you or someone you know would like to know if their neighborhood already has a Village in existence, please type your address in the map.
Read the latest issue of the Village Ambassador Alliance COVID-19 Resource Newsletter for the latest news, events and activities for Montgomery County village members and older adults. For COVID-19 Resources for older adults in Prince George’s County, read the recent newsletter issue.

Are you worried about security and privacy as you use your computer, phone and tablet for online connections? 

Together with AARP, our friends at OASIS will present a program designed to help you avoid scams and other risks to your online privacy 

Interested? Please register for the event by clicking here. 

Queen Anne's at Home "Ready or Not Workshop"
Presentation Materials Are Available:

-  Presentation Video Recording
-  Chat
-  Workshop Materials

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October 10th, 12 noon - 1 p.m.:  Queen Anne’s at Home: “Ready or Not Workshop.”  
 
Though most seniors want to age in place, most lack a concrete plan for making that happen. The Ready or Not program, designed by and for the members of the Queen Anne Village, is a planning tool and 3-4 session workshop that builds on the Village’s three quality of life pillars:  connection, purpose and empowerment. It provides a tool to help members organize and plan for aging in place; an educational program to provide members with knowledge they’ll need to thrive; and an opportunity to collaborate and develop practical strategies for staying healthy, safe, connected and independent at home.
 
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For session presentation materials, click HERE. and then

Scroll down for the October 10 session listing.
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 Dave Prescott, WAVE Corresponding Secretary

The Montgomery County Community Action Agency's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offering free tax help through the end of October for current year (2021), prior years (2018 – 2020), and amended tax returns. Virtual and in-person appointments are available for County residents with household incomes of $58,000 or less.

In-person appointments are available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Community Action Agency office, located at 1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 320 in Rockville. Walk-in appointments are available on a first come, first served basis in Rockville on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m.
Virtual appointments are available Mondays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Assistance with individual tax identification number (ITIN) applications is available on Thursdays. Visit the CASHBACK scheduling page to schedule an appointment or call 240-777-1123.

VITA helps ensure that resident receive all the credits they are eligible for.  This brings individuals and families thousands of dollars in refunds and credits, including the Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and County’s Working Families Income Supplement (WFIS).  County residents filing with ITINs are newly eligible for the State EITC and County WFIS. 

Information is available on the CASHBACK website in English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Community Action VITA is currently recruiting volunteers to serve as tax preparers, schedulers, greeters, interpreters, and quality reviewers for the upcoming tax season. Learn more and complete a volunteer application online.