Just a click away

After many complaints about the need for a consolidated source of senior resources in Maricopa about three years ago, I started aggregating the best lists available. The lists included the city’s Senior Resource List, the Be Awesome Directory, the Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens Resource Guide and a resource directory from Hospice of the Valley.

The list I created was an index that directed curious minds to answers about their inquiries. At that time, both the front desk at the Maricopa Community Center and the Maricopa Police Department used the directory list to help answer questions.

As an experienced planner and IT support worker, I thought it might be helpful to develop a database and an information kiosk for use at the community center. A grant request to support this project was denied funding. Yet, surveys from the annual Senior Info Expo indicated a better source of disseminating information was a high priority of seniors. The Age-Friendly Maricopa Advisory Committee adopted a goal to improve such communications.

But the consolidated senior information database problem persisted. Frustrated, I decided to create a new website dedicated to resources for seniors on my own. As a senior advocate and writer, I’ve been stockpiling material for years. I partnered up with local web designer James Singleton to build the website. It had to be user-friendly and adaptable. The target audience was seniors and those transitioning to older age and family members of seniors.

Senior living is not something people are trained for. Unless you have been a caregiver, you likely arrive at retirement with limited experience dealing with senior issues.

The senior resource website aims to provide information on a wide range of senior-related topics to empower people. Hopefully, for some, the material might even lead to exploring new topics of interest.

The site also provides links to a library of resources for both daily living and future needs. There are links to the city of Maricopa, InMaricopa.com, Pinal County and Arizona resources, and national organizations. Joan’s Corner features a very popular monthly newsletter from Joan Koczor. There are also links to the Maricopa Community Center calendar and a What’s New page to apprise of recent changes. For easy access, a Quick Contact link provides telephone numbers for important resources.

Feedback from the site’s early users show pleasure with the depth of content and ease of navigation. The content is updated almost daily. It will evolve as users provide feedback.

And it is all just a click away!

Try it out. It was designed for you.

Ron Smith is a senior advocate, a member of the Age-Friendly Maricopa Advisory Committee and a member of the Maricopa Community Advocates.

He is a CAPS and CLIPP™ certified planner.