Serving Our Seniors Magazine

VOTE YES SENIOR SERVICES LEVY Paid forbyTheFriendsofServingOurSeniors,MikeBixler,Treasurer ballot this year. This levy is a “renewal.” It does not increase your taxes. It funds Rural Home Delivered Meals, Out of Town Transportation to Health Care Appointments, Problem Solving & Advocacy (the work of the Senior Advocate Assistants and the Senior Advocate), Ramps, Housekeeping, Weekday Transportation, Medicare Counseling, Small Home Repairs , Diabetes Empowerment Education Program, Matter of Balance, public forums, Senior Fest and more. This is in addition to some of the other services you will read about in this issue of Serving Our Seniors Magazine. Since 1996, Serving Our Seniors has had a funding agreement with the Erie County Commissioners to implement the Erie County Senior Services Tax Levy and help older adults maintain their health and ability to function independently, as they grow older in our community. Without the Senior Services Tax Levy the work of Serving Our Seniors would not exist. Serving Our Seniors is a charitable, tax-exempt, non-profit, organization. This allows us to do fund raising and grant writing to supplement our funding and offer additional programs & services to the community. The last time the Senior Services Tax Levy was on the ballot was in the year 2020. This levy is on the Serving Our Seniors & How It Is Funded Meet our new co-worker, Carla. She recently retired and knew she had strengths, which could help others. Fortunately, she applied to be a Medicare Counselor – Trainee and was hired in July 2024. Nationally, as the expenses for Medicare deplete the financial reserves of the Health Insurance Trust Fund (aka Medicare), Serving Our Seniors expects traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans to become more nuanced and complicated to understand in the years ahead. That is why we are so pleased to have Carla’s eager attitude and desire to learn about Medicare insurance and educate other retirees to become informed Medicare consumers, too. Meet Our New Co-Worker Carla McCool 22