Good Deed-Doers

I can tell you any number of places I’d want to be on a sunny, unexpectedly warm February afternoon, but sitting inside hashing out the future needs of aging East Tennesseans wouldn’t be one of them.
Yet there they were last Thursday. A group of close to 100 kind souls who cared enough to… well, care.
That day the John T. O’Connor Senior Center hosted a formal “needs assessment” process, where volunteers gave their input as to what Governor Bredesen and the bright minds over in Nashville could do to improve the quality of life for seniors all over East Tennessee.
It isn’t often that “the powers that be” take the time to listen to what we locals have to say. It was the state’s way of asking “How am I doin’?” as well as “Where do we go from here?”

Of course, no good deed goes unpunished – the volunteers had to sit through a few speeches before they could get down to business.
The first was from Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, who cited recent successes with new senior centers in Halls, South Knoxville and Corryton. He bragged on the $6 million county-donated land for the new veterans nursing home and ongoing efforts to prosecute harshly those criminals preying on seniors.
Using private sector money, new state programs will be in put in place, like the Health Department’s “Dispensary of Hope,” a $1 million program providing prescription drugs to low-income folks. Ragsdale praised Thursday’s session, saying it would “create a roadmap to the future to ensure that senior needs are taken care of.”
Keynote speaker John Arriola, chair of the Tennessee Commission on Aging & Disability, reported that Bredesen will submit legislation to improve seniors’ independence, especially those with disabilities. Arriola said the bill enjoys support from state representatives and senators, partly because it utilizes a global budget including funding for nursing homes as well as all other state-funded senior needs. Less paperwork, more results!
Arriola reported that Bredesen’s goals for the passing of the legislation include a target of July 1, 2009, to have all the “major players” in place and that the needs assessment process will be a great first step in determining the direction of the bill.

Finally, the brainstorming began. Small groups, each with a facilitator, discussed their issues and priorities for local seniors, and then knocked around some solutions to these challenges. It’s important stuff: affordable medicine, transportation, volunteer services, home hospice. Stuff that may not affect you right now, but you never know – someday you might enjoy the fruits of their labor!
So now the hurdle is to transcribe, categorize, and otherwise make head or tail of the all their great ideas. The resulting report will be released in about seven weeks.
Participants will receive a copy of the report. To view a comprehensive summary of the report, check www.knoxcac.org or call 524-2786 to request a copy. You can help save the county some postage by requesting the report via e-mail at knoxooa@knoxcac.org.
And if you’re feeling guilty about missing this event, plan to attend the Roll-out Party for the new Knox County Senior Service Directory on Monday, March 12, at 8 a.m. at the O’Connor Center. It’s never too late to get out there and get involved!

Playlist:
1. Help Me – Joni Mitchell
2. Talk to me – Frank Sinatra
3. Take A Giant Step – The Monkees
4. The Right Thing To Do – Carly Simon
5. I Want to Hear What You Have Got To Say – The Subways
6. Hello It's Me – Todd Rundgren
7. Listen to Her Heart – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. Tell Him – The Exciters
9. He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother – The Holllies
10. When I Write The Book – Rockpile