Meet Up with Us in the Community!

For over two years now, the Community Resource Center for Aging (CRCA) has been available, mostly by phone, to help and support our aging community. As things have slowly opened over the past few months, our Resource specialists (Denise Traboulsi, MSW, May Ma Ross, MSW and myself) have been making their way into the community – meeting foothill area residents in person at wellness-focused community events (following public health guidance) such as the Crescenta Valley Hometown Country Fair, Pasadena’s Older Americans Month fair and La Cañada’s Memorial Day festivities. Additionally, we continue to host several ongoing community-based opportunities to connect and support one another.

I kicked off June with a “meet up” on June 1, joining older adults (first Wednesday each month) at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale from 1-2:30 p.m. The brief educational focus covered hiring home care providers, discussing the myriad of ways one can bring more support into the household to assist with caregiving.

Denise hosts the Caregivers Night Off on the first Thursday of each month in collaboration with our community partners Alzheimer’s Los Angeles and the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA. The two-hour program, designed for persons with mild dementia and their caregivers, offers light refreshments and various activities that make for some free respite and shared fun. To attend tonight, call in to reserve your space.

Talk to May or any of the team if you want to register for the six-week support group, Grief and Loss: Beyond Blue. This group will meet up weekly at the Pasadena Senior Center starting on Tuesday, June 7 from 2-3:30 p.m. to connect and, as comfortable, share journeys of loss. A sense of community can be built together right when many of us feel most alone.

Whether we meet up at one of these upcoming opportunities or by phone, let’s talk and determine what can support your journey. We can be reached by calling (818) 949-4033 or emailing Aging-Resources@med.usc.edu.