Senior Living

Senior services available in and around Maricopa

Dec 4, 2018

By Bob Marsh

I repeatedly see Facebook posts asking, “What services are available to seniors in Maricopa?” The question is coming from seniors who want to retire here, from homeowners who want to relocate their parents here, from retirees who are learning what it’s like to live on a fixed income, and from seniors who need help or are looking to enhance their lifestyle and get the most out of their senior years.

While the City of Maricopa and the Maricopa Unified School District have done a good job of providing a temporary replacement for the demolished Copa Center in the form of classrooms where seniors can gather to play cards, and while City Council has supported a monthly game night at Copper Sky, the senior years aren’t all fun and games. Our civilization has created an extensive set of resources and services to enhance our seniors’ lives and to provide a safety net when needed.

The Maricopa Multi-Cultural Consortium (MMCC) is working to pull together an inventory of all the federal, state, regional, county and local resources and services available to seniors, their families and their caregivers.

To start this off, MMCC, in cahoots with Joan Koczor and Arnold Jackson from the City’s Age-Friendly Maricopa Advisory Committee, hosted a presentation by the Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens at the Copper Sky Police Substation in October. The presentation covered a timely summary of Medicare-based resources. (Medicare Open Enrollment is Oct. 15-Dec.7.) The presenter also provided information covering a long list of senior resources available through the Pinal-Gila Council and the Arizona Department of Economic Security, including categories like:

Adult Protective Services
Addiction and Drug Management
Aging, Disability and Caregiver Resources
Benefits, Entitlements, and Advocacy
Financial and Legal Planning Services
Food and Nutrition Assistance
Health, Medical, and Long-Term Care
Housing and Utilities Assistance
Independent Living Services
In-Home Services and Personal Care
Mobility Management
Pets and Pet Care
Physical Fitness Resources
Recreation and Community
Senior Employment and Adult Education
Transportation
Travel and Tourism
Tribal Services
Veterans Services
Volunteer Opportunities and Community Involvement

We’ll be working to add to this list and fill in the many resources available in each category along with information on how to access these resources.

Some key resources:

Most of these senior services are available online, by phone and through administrators and volunteers at Pinal and Gila counties’ Senior Centers in Apache Junction, Coolidge, Florence, Casa Grande, Eloy, Globe, Hayden, Miami, Payson and Superior.

Bob Marsh is a director and treasurer of the Maricopa Multi-Cultural Consortium and can be reached at [email protected].

This column appears in part in the December issue of InMaricopa.