Mini Research Project#2

 USPS "CARRIER ALERT" PROGRAM

    The United States Postal Service has a program designed to take care of elderly people that are living alone in their own homes.  This program has saved many elderly that have no one to look in on them and were in need of help.  The mission statement is, "The Carrier Alert Program is a Gatekeeper type program making use of the regular, daily presence of letter carriers to watch for signs that something is out of the ordinary with the elderly especially elderly persons living alone."

     This program is available nationwide, with every letter carrier participating in the program.   Some of the services offered are:  Carrier Alert Symbol placed in the person's mailbox; Carriers notify the agency where senior is registered or report to their postal supervisors; Social Service Agency will try to contact the elderly person; and Social Service Agency will send a worker to the residence. 
     As a letter carrier, it has been my experience that before Social Service is called however, the letter carrier will attempt to contact the elderly person.  Many have the phone numbers of the closest relative and will contact that person.  Some have permission to enter and know which door is open or where a key is hidden. 
     I myself have several women and one man that I've looked in on.  They are wonderful people, very lonely and look forward to seeing their carrier every day.  They know what their carriers day off is, the exact time they will be arriving and make it difficult to continue the rounds because they love to stop and talk.  Some like me will take their charge to shop for groceries, do chores around their homes, or drive them to their doctor's appointments.  Three have my personal phone number and my permission to call should they need anything.
     The webpage, http://www.programsforelderly.com/safety-carrier-alert-usps.php has a link to Elder Abuse Prevention Programs that contains 54 different links to every imaginable need a person requires.  Also a video of "Victims of Family Elder Abuse Speak Out" is located on this link.  There are also other links on this master page for senior check in service: Emergency Response, Driver and Senior Transportation, General Senior Safety, Home Modification, and Home Repair Assistance for Elderly.  There is also a video showing an award ceremony for honored letter carriers.
     It is also just as easy to contact your local Post Office and inquire about the Carrier Alert Program.  While this is an official program the Postal Service offers, many letter carriers take it upon themselves to get involved without the person officially registering in the program.  The sticker in the mailbox is helpful to those carriers substituting on the route, but many may have it annotated in their route books.  Also there are carrier alert cards cased in that alert substitute carriers on the route to be on the lookout for things out of the ordinary.  Those things may include a buildup of mail, no snow removal, something amiss around the area of the box to indicate the elderly person has not been out in a while.  Many letter carriers across the country that have earned service awards for saving a person's life.

Unit V

     The block of reading interested me mostly because I'm currently going through menopause.  I looked forward to learning what these different studies brought to the forefront about aging, menopause, and how it's perceived.  Some of the information surprised me, and the information about taking care of ourselves made sense.
     In "Healthy Lifestyle Triggers Genetic Changes: Study," I was amazed with the results of the study.  "After three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes-including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off."  I had no idea we had the ability to change the settings on our genes!  I did understand about turning on and off switches, and have tried to reprogram my body since this change has begun.  It's a long drawn out process, yet this study saw changes in three months! This has given me renewed hope!
     Not surprising, the "Excerpts from Ourselves, Growing Older" focused on the "male domination in medicine, researchers have emphasized general problems or male problems, without noticing that women experience aging and illness differently."  While it was noted in one of the readings that more emphasis has been given to remedy this problem, only a small portion of legislation that was submitted was actually passed.  Sadly, we still have much work to go in this department.  "We have been discriminated against in treatment settings and excluded from research in ways that have been dangerous to our health and survival."
     I knew the United States didn't have the best medical care, and in "US Life Expectancy Lags Behind 41 Nations," the information there only confirmed my belief.  With Americans eating on the go, fast food has been a number one killer for this country.  "Adults in the US have one of the highest obesity rates in the world.  Nearly a third of US adults 20 yrs and older are obese according to the National Center for Health Statistics."  This information should not surprise anyone.  What was also confirmed was the fact that we lag in healthy births.  With all our technology, we lag behind even underdeveloped countries when it comes to infant mortality and ensuring their survival.
     The"Ancient Bodies, Modern Lines,""Like Mother, (Not) Like Daughter:The Social Construction of Menopause and Aging," and "Menopause is the 'Good Old'" all discussed the feelings of women in different age groups and how they perceived menopause.  This age group used baby boomers and their mothers as the focus.  I could understand and even feel for the older women not seeing it as a time where they saw a loss.  This group would have been chastised like the women sent to a mental ward and issued pills to control her depression, or as the doctor described it, suicidal.  It must have been difficult to go through this period without any support system, understanding in the medical community or even the ability to voice the problems.
     Not much has changed however when it comes to understanding that we want answers.  I would think not so much because we fear getting old, but more to the point, were not ready to consider ourselves old.  The doctor laughing at you because you thought maybe you were pregnant, instead of this understanding this cycle in your life is uncalled for.  More education should be provided prior to this phase of our lives.  We should start effecting those healthy life choices earlier than the peri-menapausal stage.  This is where our doctors should prepare us better for this chapter in our lives and help us with that transition.  It is unacceptable to hear the typical, "your getting older, what do you expect!"  I expect the way they ensure men's quality of life past age 50 is upheld, would apply to women too.

Unit IV

              According to Life Cycle Nutrition by Quizlet.com, Compression of Mobility is defined as "delaying disabilities caused by chronic disease in adulthood."  That definition ties in perfectly with the Blue Zones website.  Here you can read about research conducted in regions around the world on aging.  I found it extremely interesting how these areas had so many things in common.                       

            Dan Buettner's research in Okinawa took a young woman named Sayoko from her home and successful life in Tokyo to the small island.  Here she and Dan meet Ushi, a 104 year old woman that lived a simple life in a fishing village.  Ushi's advice for living a long life was to be welcoming of strangers, unusual in Japan.  She also said she prepared all her meals with love, and was not "chasing the carrot" anymore.  When asked what her secret would be specifically, her reply was, "work hard, drink mugwort sake before bed, and get a good night's sleep."  Sayoko was so inspired by her simple, stress free way of life that she left her job to become a full time mother.
            In The Sardinian Blue Zone, researchers discovered a genetic marker that narrowed the population down to the same ancestor's.  35% of the population had this M26 genetic marker.  According to the article, "It suggests that the Sardinians' lifestyle in the Blue Zone hasn't changed much since the time of Christ."  What this area did have in common with the Okinawa fishing village is the isolation, tight knit community, simplistic living and diet.  This region also had the largest population of centurions than anywhere else in the world.
            The Blue Zone also had some good advice in the Power 90 and Thrive Centers.  After researching "Blue Zones" around the globe, or more specifically, areas with a healthy population of seniors living well into their 90's and past 100, the researchers gathered the information and developed these lists.  What I noted about the list was how all these regions shared many similarities.  Having a purpose in life, good diet, including some alcohol of some kind everyday to a minimum, surrounded by family, friends and community, and moving naturally were the common theme.
            LOE-"Doing It My Way: Old Women, Technology, and Wellbeing," is an article that questions how we as a society can get our nonagenarians into the age of technology.  "Some elders prefer to be sedentary or home bound, and technologies like reclining chairs and walkers can be used to support this goal."  This reminded me of my friend Patty, a 74 year old woman that has been single her whole life and has no family.  She lives alone and considers her broken down car to be a symbol of independence.  It doesn't matter that it has not run in years, isn't registered, inspected or insured.  I worry about her constantly, but the suggestion that she join some kind of community is not an option.  She prefers to be alone.  This article made me think of her, and how my own 71 year old mother is so different.  She too lives alone, but was married, had a family and is surrounded by community.  Both have physical ailments, yet one chooses to wallow in her misery while the other gets out and enjoys life despite the obstacles.
            Looking at my own longevity through the Vitality Compass, I'm expected to live to the ripe old age of 78.4.  It also noted that I could live an additional 13.9 years if I made the life choices the site suggested.  One of those areas was religion.  I am religious, but not associated to any particular community.  I don't think it took into account communities I do belong to that would give me that aspect.  In addition, both sides of my family have longevity, although that wasn't always healthy.  Again, I note my own mother's battle with cancer, yet looking at her one would never know.  I myself have already crossed that road, as well as my daughter.  It was easily remedied and we all continue to take care of ourselves.  Unfortunately, this was another indicator used with this formula.  My feeling about this is simple, if I live life to the fullest until the age of 78, then I'm happy.  I have no desire to exist.  That would be an end to my life as far as I'm concerned.  The True Happiness Test gave me a B+.  As a single mother, I have four children and two grandchildren whose success is my responsibility.  Of course I could improve that grade if they were older, successful and independent.  My oldest is out of the house with her children, but I suppose I will always worry about her until she is truly happy and fully on her feet.  Someday, maybe when I'm 77!

 

Alan Simpson: Social Security is like a "Milk Cow with 310 Million Tits!"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014698-503544.html

I included this article after reading the angry response by an older woman that I posted earlier. 
It can be viewed further down on my blog.  This is about a senator that is completly out of touch
about Social Security and the people his cuts affect.  He forgets we have all paid into this system
and for some, our entire lives. 

Divorce, Older Women and Alimony

http://www.ebennettlaw.com/CM/Articles/DivorceOlderWomenAnd.asp

This article discusses the catch 22 that older divorced women face when they divorce later in
years and the court system expects them to go to work to support themselves.  These are women
well into their 70s who were told by judges that their husbands deserve to retire.  She gets no alimony
despite the fact that she was a stay at home wife.

Women and Social Security Column

http://www.bothell-reporter.com/opinion/189934281.html

The column talks about the social security system and the benefits being available
for women well into their retirement.  The statistics show 57% of all Social Security
beneficiaries age 62 and older, and approx. 68% of beneficiaries age 85 and older are
women recieving benefits.  The article is dated February 5, 2013 by Kirk Larson.

Unit III Blog Assignment

     I found three of the readings used the Census as a basis for their research.  Unfortunately, my experience with the US Census leaves me discouraged with the readings and their findings.  Case in point, I have a daughter that is half Hispanic and two grandsons that are tri-racial.  When I filled out the census back in the early 90s as noted in "The Economic Consequences of Widowhood for Older Minority Women," I was only given one choice to make for my daughter.  I chose white since she lived with me.  That in turn caused a census worker to arrive at my door, verify that I was white, noted my daughter looked Hispanic, and changed my information in front of me.  I protested, but her response was that the city gets more money based on the number of minorities it holds.  It didn't matter that my daughter would never receive a dime of that money.
     This past census I was happy to note that I would be able to annotate all my children and grand children's races.  What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that the white race was only one box, and European Spaniards and Arabic people were also to consider themselves "white."  The next block was Hispanic, where I was amazed to see about 25 choices.  I selected Puerto Rican for my daughter and decided to go back to the white box and write Italian/English next to it.  Then for my grandsons, I was given 3 choices as to what "black" they considered themselves.  I'm not sure how they came up with the choices of "black," "African-American," or "Negro/Negroid."  I wrote Liberian next to the black box.  Just because it intrigued me, I looked over the Asian block.  Yep, sub-categorized.  This led me to believe the Census was skewed. Not even our bi-racial president is considered half black, half white, but instead seen only as a black man.  The issue of race in a country that can only see skin deep leaves me hard pressed to give credibility to any race related research that doesn't properly consider the demographics of its' people.  Starting at the top, our president.
     In the reading, "Two Steps Back" the author doesn't discuss any entitlements the poor received throughout their child rearing years.  I agree that these women, regardless of race, were unable to pay into the system the same, but how much money did they receive in entitlements as a result of not making a better wage, or less hours, if any? None of this information was incorporated into the research, but one could argue that they received their social security benefits in the form of welfare, child care assistance, section 8, food stamps, wic, etc.  Many of these women have been in these programs through generations, and know how to play the system.  The fact that they will earn less social security when they get older doesn't reflect that they may have earned far more from years of assistance.
     "Late Life Widowhood, Selfishness and New Partnership Choices: A Gendered Perspective"  was an article that I could relate to, with regard to selfishness.  I'm not surprised to find that women that are widowed chose not to remarry, while men were more inclined to take another wife.  The article noted, "The words 'selfish' and 'freedom' were often used by the widows when describing their present existence, which was associated with not having to look after someone all the time."  Most of these women had been married for so long and in a subservient role, that knowing any freedom was foreign to them.  I would hardly consider focusing on themselves, instead of having to continually give of themselves, as being selfish.
     Of the readings, I found "Social Security and Older Women: A Feminist Political Economy Perspective" to be one I found more enjoyable, accurate, unbiased and thought provoking.  I agreed with Carroll Estes' assessment that women stand to lose more should Social Security become privatized.  Her reasoning's appeared more accurate to me, having never considered the time lost when I had my children.  This forced me to think about those times I struggled out of work, didn't pay in through those years, and as a result, earned less income towards my retirement.  On the other hand, I've always considered that Social Security would never be there for me anyway.  The way the government has mismanaged it, and increased the age requirement to "fix" the problem, has affected a lot of future retiree's negatively.  I personally consider it another tax, and one I'll never live long enough to see a return on.  For this reason, I feel that I'll be working long into my retirement years just to support myself.  I posted an earlier blog from a woman in Wyoming to her senator.  Her angry response said it all!