The year ending June 30, 2007
was a year of growth at CLESE. We started three new programs and
welcomed four new CLESE members: Berwyn-Cicero Council on Aging,
Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago, Lao American
Organization of Elgin and Villa Guadalupe.
CLESE programs include:
The
Alzheimer’s Demonstration Project, funded by the Administration on
Aging through the Illinois Department of Public Health, enrolled 144
clients, escorted 19 elders to their own physicians for medical
assessments and enrolled 138 people with memory problems in the Safe
Return Program. Thirteen community education sessions reached 594
participants. We work closely with the Alzheimer’s Association and
Northwestern’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center,
bringing education to ethnic communities and a review of the
Alzheimer’s Disease protocol to bi-lingual, bi-cultural physicians.
“Bright Ideas” classes that help
low-literate elderly learn English and civics are funded through the
Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services within the Illinois
Department of Human Services. We continued three classes in DuPage
County suburbs to teach Indian immigrants, Ukranian- and
Russian-speaking refugees and refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
A class in Chicago helped elderly Cambodians become U.S. citizens.
We expanded the citizenship unit as naturalization is a larger focus
in the curriculum.
New this year: the Depression in
Ethnic Elderly: Education, Acceptance and Treatment project, funded
by the Retirement Research Foundation. In partnership with White
Crane Wellness Center, participating ethnic service providers were
educated about depression and trained in conducting therapeutic
small groups. We served 224 people in the first year of the
project.
The identification,
interpretation for and intervention of elder abuse, neglect and
self-neglect program, funded through the Chicago Department on
Aging, is in its seventh year. We have assisted 439 older adults
and their families since the program’s inception. New this year is
an outreach and education program funded by the U.S. Department of
Justice through the Chicago Department on Aging.
CLESE continues to provide
technical assistance to ensure that limited-English-speaking elderly
receive Community Care Program services. CLESE estimates that over
8,000 limited-English-speaking elderly were served by CLESE member
agencies last year with homemaker or adult day services.
The Heart Disease and
Stroke
Prevention Program, funded by the Illinois Department of Public
Health, continued with new language groups: Bosnian and Polish. The
education program teaches the numbers of your body (a blood pressure
reading of 120/80), the warning signs of heart attack and stroke and
how to call 911. A total of 148 people attended one of six
educational sessions.
In the Illinois Refugee Social
Services Cultural Adjustment Project, 132 clients attended group
sessions for socialization and information. Participants learn how
to manage daily activities, such as using an ATM card and how to
stay warm in cold weather; they visit with their friends. Peer
advocates assist in linking them to needed services. Two agencies
also provided case advocacy and support to 254 clients.
Medicare Fraud cannot continue
if people are informed: they must prevent identity theft, review all
statements of medical services provided and report all suspicious
billings promptly. AgeOptions funds this program which is now in
its second year.
Understanding Menopause, funded
through the Office of Women’s Health within the Illinois Department
of Public Health, brings education on how to manage this important
transition in women’s lives. We reached 273 women; sixty-four
percent made behavior or lifestyle changes as a result of the
education sessions.
CLESE continues to advocate for
the needs of limited-English-speaking elderly. Alphawood
Foundation helps us to advocate for mental health, housing and other
needs of immigrant and refugee elderly.
CLESE thanks all our supporters:
AgeOptions funds the Senior Medicare Patrol
program which educates elderly about healthcare fraud
Alphawood Foundation funds our advocacy work
Chicago Department on Aging funds the elder
mistreatment program
Illinois Department on Aging funds technical assistance for the
Community Care Program, translation of critical documents and supports our
efforts to improve services to limited English speaking elderly
Illinois Department of Human Services funds
Bright Ideas
Illinois Department of Human Services (through the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Chicago) funds the Illinois Refugee Social Services
Cultural Adjustment Program.Illinois Department of Public Health funds the Alzheimer’s
Demonstration Project, the Understanding Menopause project and the Heart Disease
and Stroke Prevention Project
The Retirement Research Foundation funds CLESE
for the Depression in Ethnic Elderly: Education, Acceptance and
Treatment project. In the coming year, we will research the reasons
why some families choose to take older adults with memory problems
for comprehensive assessments and why some do not in a new project
funded by the Chicago Community Trust.
