Steve Hahn

North Carolina residents had several days’ notice that Hurricane Florence was headed straight to Southeastern NC. Despite warnings to evacuate, many residents stayed in their homes. While their reasons varied, many cited that they don’t have the means to pay for lodging, gas and food to move to a safer place, even though free shelters were available to them.

To head off charity scams in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, AARP joined the NC Attorney General, United Way of North Carolina and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina to warn residents that scammers are capitalizing on people's willingness to donate to hurricane recovery and clean up efforts.

This week, AARP North Carolina and state fraud fighters provided helpful information tools and resources to spot, prevent and report charity scams that are rampant after Hurricane Florence. Listen to the call with Deputy Secretary of State Haley Haynes who oversees charitable contributions in the state.

AARP invites you to see this powerful one-hour documentary, meet the author and producer, and learn how important lessons from the past are relevant today.

North Carolinians ages 50 and above are the state's most powerful voting bloc and it is important that we stay that way.

WASHINGTON -- To better educate veterans and their family caregivers, AARP enthusiastically endorses a bipartisan bill, H.R. 5500, the Veterans’ Credit Protection Act, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish outreach to veterans who may be subjected to credit reporting due to late or unpaid health care costs. The measure is expected to be debated in the House after Labor Day.

AARP is working to make North Carolina communities better places for people of all ages. Two major Triad Counties, Guilford and Forsyth have recently joined A ARP's Network of Age Friendly Communities and are working on changes that will make it easier for people to age in place.

ASHEVILLE -- The irony was perfect: outside the front door of Asheville’s NC Stage Company, teenagers were skateboarding down Walnut Street, an elder’s classic stereotype of adolescence if there ever was one. Inside, a different group of teens (and elders) were creating and putting on a performance––“Mind the Gap”––about breaking down such stereotypes.

RALEIGH –Medicare contributes $19.5 million to North Carolina’s economy, equivalent to 21% of state and local government spending in the state, according to a new report from AARP. Medicare also covers 1,788,687 beneficiaries in the state. Older Americans have said Medicare is one of their top issues in the 2018 mid-term elections, and AARP North Carolina is working to encourage voter participation this election season.

In support of that work, AARP is excited to be able to provide funding to organizations through the AARP Community Challenge to help them jumpstart progress on ongoing work. These “quick action” grants are being distributed to 129 organizations, with at least one in every state, Washington D.C, and Puerto Rico, including right here in North Carolina. The Community Challenge grants provide communities with the chance to fund innovative projects that can inspire change in areas such as transportation, open spaces, housing, and other innovative projects to improve the community and make North Carolina’s counties, cities, towns and rural areas better places to live for all residents.