Tax preparation help to return to Senior Center in 2019

Posted

VITA will be returning to prepare federal and state income tax returns at no charge as part of the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

The planned dates are Feb. 23 and March 16, 2019, by appointment only. The gross income limit this tax season is $54,000.

Please call 264-2167 for more information or to make an appointment.

Free legal document preparation

The San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging will provide legal services for seniors through the program attorney, Daniel Fiedler. Fiedler will be spending the day at the Pagosa Springs Senior Center on Jan. 25, 2019.

Following are the legal services Fiedler can assist with:

• Public benefits and utilities shut off.

• Landlord-tenant problems, such as persons being evicted.

• Simple wills, power of attorneys, medical durable power of attorney and living wills.

• Consumer issues such as advocating for persons harassed by debt collectors.

• Emergency limited long-term care guardianship and domestic problems, such as abuse.

Please come by or call the Senior Center office (inside the Ross Aragon Community Center) located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. or call 264-2167 to schedule an appointment.

San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging:

Gratitude

By Kay Kaylor

I advocate for residents at Pine Ridge, a 24-hour extended care home, and BeeHive, an assisted living residence, as the part-time long-term care ombudsman for Archuleta County. Federal and state laws protect residents to promote quality of care and quality of life.

Again this year for Thanksgiving, I will turn to what I am grateful for as an ombudsman. I am thankful the long-term care ombudsman program exists in every state and with advocates assigned to each licensed facility, an asset not only for Archuleta County long-term care residents and their families, but also for those who have relatives in other states living in group homes.

I am grateful stricter laws have protected residents of these homes since the 1980s and that advocacy agencies such as The National Consumer Voice are vigilant about the laws and educate the public when resident rights are threatened.

Particularly worth thanking is Health First Colorado, Colorado’s Long-Term Care Medicaid, which enables qualified people to live in extended care homes such as Pine Ridge. With 2018 costs of these averaging $7,000 per month in Colorado (maximum $20,000), the typical person, even those with a pension, cannot afford such care, which Medicare does not cover. (Those whose pension is not enough can establish a Medicaid trust.) About 50 percent of people in extended care homes rely on Medicaid. With the aging of baby boomers increasing the need for long-term care, affordable options must be created.

Finally, I am grateful for the residents, who tell interesting stories about their lives and who patiently endure the loss of their independence and living with strangers.

For further information, you may call me at 403-2164 or send an email to ombudsman2@sjbaaa.org.

Menu

Everyone is welcome to join us for lunch. If you are a senior (60 years and older), for only a $4 suggested donation, you are eligible for a hot meal, drink and a salad prepared by our kitchen staff.

The guest fee for those 59 and under is $10 and children 10 years and under can eat for $8.50 each. Access to the salad bar is only $6 for those under 60.

Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 22 — Closed for Thanksgiving.

Friday, Nov. 23 — Closed for Thanksgiving.

Monday, Nov. 26 — Pork and green chile stew, glazed carrots, squash calabacitas, cornbread with butter, milk and salad bar.

Tuesday, Nov. 27 — Lemon chicken, loaded baked potato, broccoli with red peppers, focaccia bread with butter, milk and salad bar.

Wednesday, Nov. 28 — Lemon baked tilapia with tartar sauce, whipped sweet potatoes, snow pea medley, milk, salad bar and carrot cake.

Thursday, Nov. 29 — Beef meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, green peas, milk, salad bar and chocolate pie.

Reservations and cancellations are required. You can make a reservation at 264-2167 by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you would like to dine in the Community Cafe at the Senior Center.