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CGheAtlanta Bowral 2-A *** = Thursday, July 10, 1969
Second FRONT
Atlanta's Aid to the Elderly |
Draws Praise of U.S. Official
By CHRISTENA BLEDSOE
The new U.S. commissioner on aging, John B. Martin,
Thursday stressed that all Model Cities programs should include
plans for the elderly, and said he would use Atlanta efforts as an
example to sell this idea to other cities.
In Atlanta for a regional meet-
ing with personnel in the aging
field from five states, Martin
took a whirlwind tour of Atlan-
ta’s efforts to aid senior citizens,
and liked what he saw.
pointed as President Nixon’s spe-
cial assistant for the aging, said
the Nixon administration plans
to put special emphasis on the
problems of the elderly.
UNDER HIS dual title he will|)
be able to coordinate plans for
the elderly with other federal
agencies, Martin said.
Through an “understanding”
with the Housing and Urban De-
velopment Department, Martin
said he expects federal officials
who review plans for some 150
Model Cities programs across
the country to “look with special
favor” on those with plans to
tend to the needs of the eiderly.
Since the Model Cities pro-}
grams are reviewed annually,
Martin said this could serve as
a built-in check to assure atten-
tion for the elderly.
Some 10 per cent of the popu-
lation is 65 years and older, and
nearly 40 per cent of this group
lives in poverty or near-pover-
ty, he said.
‘| Equally bad, Martin said, is
the fact that the elderly feel
lost and out of the mainstream
of our youth-oriented society.
WHILE the ranks of the elder-
ly are mushrooming because of
medical advances prolonging
life, their special problems
haven’t yet really been grap-
\| pled with, Martin said.
Martin, who also has been ap- |
The elderly tend to be quiet
about their problems, so some-
one needs to ‘‘push” for them,
Martin said. His Atlanta visit
attempts to come up with ‘‘inno-
vative ideas’’ to help make
these people feel a useful part
of society, he said.
Atlanta and Seattle are among
.| the few cities in the nation now
paying attention to their needs
under Model Cities programs,
Martin said. His Atianta visit
Thursday was the commission-
er’s first to any of the regional
offices. :
Thursday Martin visited a fos-
ter grandparent project at Gra-
dy Memorial Hospital, under
which some 41 persons ranging
from 60 to 85 years work part-
time, at Grady and at the re-
gional mental hospital five days
a week caring for children. They
are paid $1.60 an hour.
EACH WOMAN is assigned to
the care of one child and often
attends him a month or longer
at Grady. The program is set
up to mutually benefit the chil-
| dren and fill a need of senior
citizens.
Mrs. Sarah Hinton, 85, told
him she loved her work so much
that if she were fired, ‘‘I’d just
come back on my own.”
The gray-haired woman said
|she had wb grandchildren, 21
| great-grandchildren and one
great-great-grandchild of ‘her
own.
Another woman, who rocked
in a rocking chair, bottle-feed-'
ing a baby, grinned and said of
her charge, “‘She’s spoiled.”
Mrs. George Miller, a nurse
with the project, told Martin the
program could use 50 more us|
,ter grandparents at the regional |
‘mental hospital alone and 25 |
more for the new Georgia Re-
‘tardation Center opening in ace)
tober.
“T hope I’m talking to the |
right person,” she said with a|
smile. |
MARTIN _ responded, “We
want to know about it (the
project)—not only where you
are but what your dreams are.”’
He said he is now trying to
wrangle out of Congress $9.2
million for foster grandparent
programs across the nation.
In the Model Cities area, Mar- |
tin took a quick neighborhood
tour and saw work at the Child
Development Center where old-
er persons are being trained as
classroom aides, the McDaniel
Street Housing project for the
aged, and learned of a project)
that will get volunteers to take |
the elderly to the doctor, give |
home care if needed and even |
deliver meals.
A woman working at the |
Child Development Center told!
Martin she was lost before she |
istarted working “‘but I haven’ t |
missed a day since . . . . It’s)
done a lot for my health, 7 she |
said with a smile.
Martin commended the metro- |
politan area Senior
Citizens |
Services Staff, headed by Al}
Horvath, for plugging for the|
older people to assure they were
included in Model Cities plan- |
ning in health, education, trans- |
portati6n and housing compon- |
ents.