Help for Boomers with Parents Coming Tuesday to Senior Center

If your parent is a veteran but never served during wartime, is he or she eligible for veterans benefits?

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

Is there an official age when someone is considered 'senior,' and if so, is it 65 or 75?

When is a senior considered unfit to drive?

These and many more questions will be answered at an informational event Tuesday hosted by the Enumclaw Senior Activity Center. This is intended to help baby boomers understand the basic landscape of senior care as well as what resources are available to them.

"We have growing numbers of baby boomers who are caring for aging parents, and it's a new journey for both," said Senior Center Director Jobyna Nickum. "There are those who are aging and facing new levels of dependence and those adult children who are facing that fine line between respecting their parents but wanting to provide the level of care for them that they parents need."

And the care is complicated. "There's an entire language that people are unfamiliar with," Nickum said.

For example, non-wartime veterans are eligible for vet benefits, she said. "So many people are eligible but they don't know. ... Many times the money that they receive from vet benefits means the difference between buying medicine or buying groceries."

Speakers and presentations on Tuesday include Nickum, King County Veterans Programs speaker Joel Estey, Veterans of Foreign Wars speaker Court Fraley, Senior Services of Seattle, Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors, SHIBA speaker Fred Bauer and Social Security.

There will also be representatives from the Senior Center with information about lunch programs, transportation, and more, as well as the Washington State Department of Veterans/Federal Aid & Attendance with details about health care, housing, PEARLS, and other services.

There will be two sessions Tuesday: 

• A Mid-afternoon session from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• An evening session from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, contact:

• Jobyna Nickum at 360-825-4741 x5641
• Donna Elzenga at 360-825-4741 x5642
• Joel Estey at 206-296-7570