Matt-Extraordinary solicitor of donated prizes!!
Helping clients help themselves
Hi all,
I put together a question/answer list for a client who had a hard time remembering things, and expanded it into a list to help folks work with service coordinators. If it helps you, please feel free to print at will.
— Kari
Meet Cyndi Kramer
Cyndi Kramer is the service coordinator for Village of Hillside in Harbor Springs, a small PVM apartment building in northwest Michigan. She has been the service coordinator since December 2013.Previously she worked with troubled adolescents; this is her first experience working with older adults. She has her BA in Psychology and is a certified paralegal and licensed paramedic. Service coordination is the most recent career path she’s taken, which she was talked into by the staff at Village of Hillside.
When she’s not at work, Cyndi is the volunteer Executive Director of Farming for Our Future. This local non-profit works to raise awareness and connect people with local food sources. Through Farming for Our Future, Cyndi runs a local farmer’s market and community garden, as well as organizing field trips to a local farm. She is also a model for local sketch artists. She participates in ‘Drink and Draw Wednesdays’, which promotes local artists. Cyndi is very passionate about her community and promoting local resources, artists, and culture.
Cyndi’s favorite quote is from The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall: “If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As formative events go, nothing else comes close.”
The best part of being a service coordinator for Cyndi is being able to talk to a variety of people about a variety of topics. She tries to encourage older adults to ‘get up and get moving, no matter how they do it.’ Cyndi works to inspire, engage, and support the residents of Hillside in everything she does.
Community Outreach Best Practices for SC’s
- Network. We are not the only SC’s in the world. There are undoubtedly others out there doing the same great work. Go meet them. Be part of something bigger. Or join an interdisciplinary group. We are not alone out there.
- When meeting with a regional SC group, hold the meeting at an agency or community organization and ask the agency to provide a presentation to the group. This could allow them to get a sense of who we are.
- Change your language. Do not introduce yourself as a Social Worker or Elder Helper. You are a Service Coordinator. Say it loud. Say it Proud.
- Provide an in-service training on what a SC is and what a SC does to an agency, organization, or network. They may simply be unaware that you are there. Educate them.
- Go to community events (with your supervisor’s permission, of course!) Network with other folks that are working in your community. Share some inspiration.
- Vetting is a great way to get your name and your work out there. Write, call, and visit the agency that you are interested in. Show them that you are a powerful force.
- Go to a health expo and network with the providers there, or better yet, hold one yourself. Bring them in & show them what you’ve got.
- Lastly, you are out there everyday letting people you are working with know who you are and what you do. Thank you for being an exemplary example of what an SC can be.
Lion’s Hearing Center of Michigan
There are new application forms for qualified individuals in need of lower cost hearing devices from Lion’s Hearing Center of Michigan. The Lion’s web site has been updated to list physician clinics who conduct the exams. They are looking to increase the amount of physician clinics and audiologists to take part in this program. Application forms for Oakland County contact Matt Tapson at 248-549-2504 or matttapson@hotmail.com. For Wayne or Macomb County call Jen at 1-313-745-4664 at the Lion’s Center in Detroit. To start the process the client must fill out the Hearing Assistance Application which also requires proof of income, social security, bank statements, and insurance information.
Senior Bullying Policy from the Intergenerational Bullying Workshop
Resources from the Michigan Intergenerational Network workshop on bullying at the Village of Westland on September 18, 2014. The “Senior Center Policy on Bullying” was created by Micheline Sommers, LMSW, for communities and senior centers.
Continuing Education Resources
Here’s a list of different websites where you can find continuing education workshops. These organizations either offer their own courses or can help you find local providers.
CE Websites
VCE
www.vceonline.org
CE4Less
www.ce4less.com
Institute of Gerontology and ASA webinars
www.asaging.org/web-seminars
Michigan Continuing Education Collaborative
www.socialworkcec.com
Social Work Today
www.SocialWorkTodayCE.com
Elite Continuing Education
www.elitecme.com
NetCE
www.NetCE.com
Core Learning
www.corelearninginc.com
CE-Credit
www.ce-credit.com
Continuing Education.Com
www.continuingeducation.com
Institute for Natural Resources
www.inrseminars.com/seminars
Schools of Social Work
Andrews University
www.andrews.edu/cas/socialwork/continuing/
Eastern Michigan University
www.emich.edu/extended/training/socialwork
Ferris State University
www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/colleges/artsands/Social-Sciences/programs/social-work/homepage.htm
Grand Valley University
www.gvsu.edu/swce/
Michigan State University
www.socialwork.msu.edu/ceu/
University of Michigan
ssw.umich.edu/offices/continuing-education
University of Detroit-Mercy
liberalarts.udmercy.edu/programs/depts/socialwork
Wayne State University
socialwork.wayne.edu/continuing-education/
Wayne State University
Institute of Gerontology
www.iog.wayne.edu/resources/continuing-education.php
Western Michigan University
wmich.edu/socialwork/academics/continuing
Area Agencies on Aging
Office of Services to the Aging
www.michigan.gov/osa
Region 1A Detroit Area Agency on Aging
www.daaa1a.org/DAAA/
Region 1B AAA
www.aaa1b.org/
Region 1C The Senior Alliance, Inc.
www.aaa1c.org
Region 2 AAA
www.r2aaa.net/
Region 3A AAA
www.kalcounty.com/aaa/
Region 3B AAA
www.region3b.org/
Region 7 AAA
region7aaa.org/
Region 10-AAA of Northwest Michigan
www.aaanm.org/
Aging Driver Guide
Below is an Aging Driver Guide available through Secretary of State.
Cooking for One
Hello out there!
I just received this handy cookbook from Hospice of Michigan.
Hospice of Michigan A Meal For Me Cookbook
It is quite extensive and obviously for those who have recently or maybe not so recently lost. It also contains some nifty quotes that may be comforting. Example: “Laughter is free, legal, has no calories, no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, absolutely safe.” Kind of nice. Maybe you can use it, maybe one of your residents can use it. Recipes rule.
Peace.