Need Advice I want to do all I can do.

[pjackson]

Today I saw a family friend who is a senior citzen and also mentaly retarted{I hope that is the right way to say it.** walking from the shopping center close to her house. When I asked her how she was doing she said broke and hungry : :eek: ( I was shocked to her it but did not know what to say. after leaving her I quickly called my mother and told her. My mother and I decided to make her a basket of food and take it to her on saturday and also check into the meals on wheels program in her area. I am so disturbe about this is this all we can do for her or is there something else we can do . I live in Bedford a Suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I will take any suggestion I can get.

[Specialk]

Perhaps someone can call Meals on Wheels and see if they will deliver her hot meals so she can get a decent meal to eat every day. And somehow see if she qualifies for SSI due to her mental disability? I dont know what the requirements are for that, so but worth checking into for her. Good Luck!!!

[ldsmomof1]

Well I don't know this person and their condition exactly, but I do want to share one other possible perspective. I read a lot about elderly conditions such as alzheimers and other forms of dementia as my mother has dementia. It is actually fairly common for someone with a mental condition to say they are cold and hungry... that they aren't being clothed and fed, etc. when it is entirely not true. So while it is great that you want to rush out and help this person make sure you have all the facts straight first.

[Njean31]

call aps if you are questioning yourself........think of her as a child because that is what the mind of a person with dementia or advanced alzheimers presents as. does she have someone taking care of her?.........someone with advanced dementia or alzheimers DEFINATLEY needs a designated caregiver and if they don't have one available unfortunately they will have to be instituionalzied(boy, that looks misspelled.....).

[luvangel72]

I would call your local social service office. They will send a social worker over to check on her and her living conditions. If she needs anything(clothing, food, full time caregiver) they will make sure the proper agencies are notified.

[lassss]

That was very sweet and caring of you to take her food. Maybe Catholic Chrities can help also and United Way might be a start to get some info

[pjackson]

I thank everyone for their advice I have contacted many meals on wheels program all i have to do is make a appt also the unitedway will be sending me a directory for ederley oraganizations.

[cinnamonch]

How incapacitated is your neighbor? Reason I'm asking is that my mom is mentally retarded (yes its ok to say that) and I am her guardian. If this person has been receiving money and doesn't have the ability to take care of it properly, you might want to check into that.

Does she have any family or other neighbors you can check with to find out what is goin gon with her?

[Starlady01]

You mentioned that you took her a basket over so I take it she has a place to stay. Was she just hungry at that time expressing how she felt at the time or was she expressing that she was always hungry? I've learned from the past not to jump to conclusions.
If she is hungry due to lack of food being in the house SSI and food stamps can help. Hopefully she already has a caretaker. Most people on SSI are always broke because it's not nessaryly enough money to pay all the bills and buy food. If she has someone else in the house helping and two incomes then that makes a difference. I say get more details.

P.S if the girl has a mental condition she could of also of been repeating what she heard other say ect or could of just been saying it like the other say.

[janelle]

How incapacitated is your neighbor? Reason I'm asking is that my mom is mentally retarded (yes its ok to say that) and I am her guardian. If this person has been receiving money and doesn't have the ability to take care of it properly, you might want to check into that.

Does she have any family or other neighbors you can check with to find out what is goin gon with her?

Thank you cinnamonch for saying mantally retarded is ok to say. I've been chewed out many times when I use the term. LOL

It must be from jerks calling people retarted. Well I never hung around anyone who called people with handicaps retards or anyone else for that matter so it's not a bad word or term to me. I also think many, many people still use that word instead of mentally challenged which really does not tell you much. Just that the person has a disfunction. We are all mentally challenged in some way, especially those who call names. :eek:

[LuvBigRip]

Most states have senior advocates, check with the state webpage and see what is offered for her.

[redrig]

My DBF's sister is mentally retarded and lives in a group home (she's 45). Any time anyone asks her how she's doing, she tells them she's broke and needs money. The reason for this is that the staff at the group home give her $5.00/day for lunch money and they always tell her to be very careful with it...she has a habit of losing it almost as soon as it gets into her hands (puts it down somewhere and then forgets where she left it, another client in the home picks it up, etc). To her that translates into she has no money, period.