Your Senior Advisor: Caregiving a Great Job for ‘Seasoned’ Citizens

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care.

Q.  I’m a 76-year-old widow looking for part-time work.  I like to keep busy, but working in a store, restaurant or office doesn’t appeal to me.  I’d rather help people.  What can I do at my age?

Retiring at age 65 used to be the dream for many people, but times are changing throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Older workers are returning to the employment ranks for various reasons from monetary needs to boredom.  And that number appears to be on the rise.In fact, 13.5 percent of the U.S. population age 65 and older was employed in 2003 compared with 12.5 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.  In Canada, an estimated 305,000 people age 65 and older were employed in 2001, up from about 255,000 in 1996. That was a 19.6 percent increase, nearly twice the 11 percent growth in the total senior population during the same period.  As you can see, you’re in good company.     

Everyone has special gifts.  To begin, make a list of experiences you have that few others do and see if you can get paid for them.  Put together a resume that will help capture your unique talents and experience.  Going through that process also could help you better determine what you’d like to do.  Since helping people is your interest, try to find places in your community that are looking for someone with your compassion and skills.  Networking with friends and business associates is often your best place to find out what’s available in your employment market. 

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Use It Or Lose It: Local Company Helps Keep Seniors’ Minds on the Move

When it comes to how the mind ages, research is increasingly giving new meaning to the popular phrase “use it or lose it,” said Bert Copple, director of community relations of the Home Instead Senior Care^® franchise offices in Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan. “We know that mind games keep many aging minds young and vital,” said Copple. 

So what are today’s seniors doing to keep mentally fit?  Many have said goodbye to traditional games such as bingo.  They’re gravitating more to video-game technology and group activities such as Scrabble^® and bridge tournaments.  According to the latest studies, it all helps.  Researchers in a study published just last year in Psychological Medicine from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, found that individuals with high brain reserve—which looks at the roles of education, occupational complexity, and mentally stimulating pursuits in preventing cognitive decline—have a 46-percent decreased risk of dementia than those with low brain reserve.  The study found that it is, in fact, a case of “use it or lose it,” and pointed out that even a late-life surge in mental activity can stave off the effects of this terrible disease. However, one deterrent for many seniors who would like to stay mentally active is lack of companionship—particularly for those older adults who live alone. 

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