Advocating Elderly Americans Essay -- Advocates Senior Citizens

The elderly in America have many needs that can range from transportation, a little more money, and even just a little companionship but one of their major needs is advocacy. They need someone to stand up and fight with them for what the need. The elderly of today did so much for this country such things as fight both world wars and the Korean Conflict, they fought for equality, and the escalated this country to the greatness we have today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So what is an advocate? Advocate is a person or group that represents a common interest and goes to great lengths to see that their cause is not neglected. So why does our elderly need advocates? Our elderly need advocates for various reasons. They need someone to fight with congress over healthcare cost and issues, they need someone to defend them against neglect and abuse, and most of all they need someone to make them aware of the services and programs available to make their lives easier. Advocates are very important to our elderly as well as they should be no one wants to be alone, we all want someone to fight beside us. So who does stand up and fight for our elderly?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In all parts of the United States there are Offices for the Aging to assist our elderly with obtaining the services they deserve. The Office for the Aging was created to promote self-determination, self-promotion and self-sufficiency among the elderly. They also wanted to make seniors aware of the services available to them and their families. Over the years that Offices for the Aging has existed they have created networks of connections in many aspects with in each of their communities. Through their broad range of connections they can assist any one with any problems. Most people feel as though the Office for the Aging is nothing more than a referral agency. There could be nothing further from the truth, Office for the Aging offers a wide variety of services but if they do not offer a service that you need they can and will refer you to an agency that can. One of the services that the Office for the Aging offers is Social Security counseling. This is a big servi ce because of the changing laws and the complexity of the laws it is tough for many elderly to understand properly obtain all of the money they are entitled to. Office for the Aging can also go to your Social Security hearing for you if you wish that they do so. The Office for ... ...as quoted as saying, â€Å"It’s virtually impossible to take back the House or win the presidency without taking back the seniors. That makes them the key battleground†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the upcoming decade there will be over 76 million baby boomers that will be over 65 that mean they will have more power then any other voting cohort in America. This means the attention that the senior vote is getting will become stronger and stronger. Older people are more likely to vote that are younger people this means that seniors can be their own advocate. Seniors can be their own advocates by voting people into office that will vote their way on important issues. Voting is a powerful instrument for all people but is often overlooked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advocacy is an important in order for voices to be heard. Seniors citizens have various needs and as fellow humans it is our obligation to protect them. They paved the way for our country’s prosperity who are we to put them out pasture. Works Cited www.aarp.org www.americangeriatrics.org www.carie.org www.commoncause.org www.ncscinc.org www.senior.org The gerontologist. â€Å"Older People and Voting Participation: Past and Future† by Robert Binstock. February 2000.