It is Time to Prepare for Hurricane Season!

Hurricane season officially starts on June 1st. It is important to prepare ahead of time - especially if you have special needs or own a pet.  The Florida Department of Elder Affairs has published a "Disaster Preparedness Guide for Elders".  This guide covers many types of disasters including:

• hurricanes
• fires
• floods
• tornadoes
• pandemic flu

This is an excellent guide with practical advice - such as how to assemble a disaster supplies kit and create a plan for yourself and your pets.  You can read this guide online here or pick up a print copy at your library.  You can find more information, including videos from the National Hurricane Center.   

Here are local Pasco County resources to prepare for hurricane season: 

• Pasco County's Hurricane Guide - available on this page in English and Spanish.
• If you have special needs - you will need to pre-register for SNAPS services, like transportation and care.  You can learn more here.  The link to the registration form is here.
• If you have a pet and need to have a place for him/her during an evacuation, you will need to pre-register your pet.  More information can be found here.

Library of Congress Historical Music and Recordings

The Library of Congress has started a project called the "National Jukebox", where they are providing historical sound recordings free to the public.  There are over 10,000 recordings from 1901 to 1925.  These are recordings from their archives and they plan to continue adding to this collection.  Here are some of the categories of recordings available for your listening pleasure:

• opera
• ragtime
• jazz
• country
• classical
• speeches
• skits
• humor

Here are a few songs from the archives:


The Smiler Rag


New River Train - Traditional/Country


Casey at the Bat -Comedy

Click here to find more recordings.

Older Americans Month Census Facts

President Obama proclaimed May, 2011 as "Older Americans Month". This year's theme of "Older Americans Month" is "Older Americans: Connecting the Community".  Every Year the U.S. Census Bureau provides a fact sheet to celebrate this month. 
Here are some highlights from this fact sheet:

• 39.6 million people in the U.S.were 65 or older in 2009
• $31,354 is the median income of householders 65 and older
• 8.9% is the poverty rate for people 65 and older
• 6.5 million people 65 or older were in the workforce in 2009 and this is projected to increase to 11.1 million by 2018
• The state with the highest number of people age 65 or older is California (4.1 million).  Florida is in second place with 3.2 million people age 65+.
• 81% of householders age 65 or older owned their own homes in 2010.
• 56% of people 65 and older were married in 2010
• 9 million veterans of the armed services are age 65 or older

The full census report can be found here.

Free Elder Consumer Law Program

The Stetson University College of Law sponsors the Elder Consumer Protection Program.  This program was designed to provide an educational resource for topics pertaining to elder consumer protection - including financial scams and fraud.  The college sponsors free events as part of this program.  There is an upcoming Elder Consumer Law Day.
This program is:

"Batten Down Against Disaster Frauds and Scams (Price Gouging, Home Repair, Charity Fraud, Insurance)"

Tuesday, May 17th

from 9:00am - 2:00pm

at the Stetson University College of Law 

(Eleazer Courtroom)

1401 61^st Street South

Gulfport, Florida 33707

Although the program is free, they do require that you register, as there is limited space.  Light breakfast and lunch will be provided to registered attendees.  You can call  727-562-7888 to register or to get more information or you can e-mail elderconsumers@law.stetson.ed.

In addition, free consumer services will be available at this event -such as do-not-call/opt-out registration, free credit reports, and secure document shredding.

Older Americans Month 2011

May is Older Americans Month.  This observance was originally called "Senior Citizen's Month" when it was created in 1963, but it was renamed "Older Americans Month" by President Carter in 1980.  The Administration on Aging has announced the theme for this year - "Older Americans: Connecting the Community".  The Administration on Aging states that this theme "... pays homage to the many ways in which older adults bring inspiration and continuity to the fabric of our communities. It also highlights the many ways technology is helping older Americans live longer, healthier and more engaged lives." You can celebrate Older Americans Month by contacting the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco - Pinellas and finding out about volunteer opportunities with programs which help Older Adults in our community.