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The Area 1 Area Agency on Aging hopes Del Norte County seniors will let them know what their greatest needs are.

The nonprofit organization that serves elders in Humboldt and Del Norte counties has deployed an online Senior Needs Survey as it updates its plan for services to the community. The agency’s funding comes from the Older Americans Act, Executive Director Maggie Kraft told the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

There hasn’t been a significant increase in funding to the Area 1 Agency on Aging, Kraft said. But the dollars it does receive provides home-delivered meals, information assistance, the ombudsmen program, exercise programs and other services, she said.

“But we just get the bare minimum,” she said. “We’re the fourth smallest Area Agency in the entire state. Just to keep the doors open for business there’s a certain amount of cost regardless of how big you are.”

The Area 1 Agency on Aging’s Senior Needs Plan helps determines how much money it receives for services. It’s required to update that plan every four years, Kraft said. She said it’s also a good way for the organization to hear what the needs of Del Norte County seniors are.

“We know there are issues with housing for seniors, issues with caregiving,” she said. “There are a lot of issues that until federal dollars come in in big sums, we have to be creative locally about how we address those issues and very often they’re addressed with volunteers.”

By learning what local seniors’ greatest needs are the agency can improve services and plan for future programs, Kraft said. The agency also shares the data it gathers with cities and counties, which is useful when seeking grants, she said.

The Area 1 Agency on Aging will also come out with an updated senior information guide by January or sooner, Kraft said. The agency will distribute 12,000 copies in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The guide will also be available online.

Kraft said her organization is working with the Del Norte Senior Center to gather information about the community.

Among the agency’s new services is a new North Coast Home Share program. Using a small sum of grant dollars, the agency did a feasibility study determining if local seniors would be open to sharing their homes to tenants, Kraft said.

Perspective tenants and homeowners are interviewed, Kraft said, and a background check conducted to determine if they’re an ideal match. The agency helps homeowners determine how much rent to charge and also assists with conflict resolution.

She noted that many people in their 70s or 80s don’t want to move out of the home they raised their children in. Sharing their home with someone in their 50s or 60s having difficulty finding a rental unit may be beneficial for both parties, Kraft said.

“Those people can be great roommates for people in their 70s and 80s,” she said. “It’s a win-win. That person living alone might need help with chores. We can match people up with skills.”

According to Kraft, another Area 1 Agency on Aging program that just started this year is its new hoarding task force. Using funding fro the Mental Health Services Act and partnering with theHumboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, the Area 1 Agency on Aging hosted a conference focusing on the issue.

There are also two support groups, one for people who struggle with hoarding disorder and another for families and friends of hoarders, Kraft said.

“We’d like to train some of these folks to be peer group leaders so that we’re using volunteers to lead a group,” she said. “(We hope) to get more and more people on the same page to understand what hoarding disorder is and what it is not — more education, sharing resources and hoping to move forward toward creating other elements.”

The Area 1 Agency on Aging’s Senior Needs Survey is available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/a1aasurvey. People can get hard copies at the Del Norte Senior Center, 1765 Northcrest Drive in Crescent City. For more information, call Maren Rose at (707) 442-3763 extension 208 or email mrose@a1aa.org.

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