AARP Oregon

Our Ombudsman left us. (“Us” are the residents of the ALF I live in.) She resigned because, in addition to serving as our ALF’s Ombudsman, she had a “day job,” the job she held to earn a living. You see, working for us aged and disabled is a voluntary activity. It’s a choice a citizen makes to help the vulnerable in our communities.

Being safe online is important every day. There may be days devoted to internet security awareness, but you need to be careful every time you go online.

J oin AARP Oregon staff and volunteers this July at an AARP Activist & Volunteer meeting near you. Discover what we are doing in your community. Get an update on AARP’s local, state and national outreach and advocacy efforts for the first half of the year and what's ahead.

I wish these written letters could morph into the sounds they signify, then you’d get the genuine sound of . . . what to call it? It’s not really abuse – but it’s not really respect, either, and it shoots to hell the declaration of “dignity,” which many – all, really - LTC facilities claim as their “holy grail.” After all, we are “elders,” with all the sacrosanct connotations the word embraces.

Social Security continues to evaluate and improve how we protect what’s important to you. We take this responsibility seriously, and we have a robust cyber security program in place to help protect the personal information you entrust to us. Adding additional security measures to safeguard your personal information — but making them easy to use — is a vital part of keeping you safe and secure.

Editor's Note: Our COO Scott Frisch was in Portland and gave this speech to a group of HR professionals on the value of older workers, the longevity economy - and the new OregonSaves program.

Social Security encourages people to rejoin the workforce when they are able. Ticket to Work is our free and voluntary program that helps people get vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other employment support services.

Recherché, a French word meaning of rare quality or elegance aptly describes Encore Entrepreneur, Pamela Burkland, and the line of one-of-a-kind, handmade bags and wearable art she produces. Recherché specializes in bags that illustrate an east meets west design: the bags are made from vintage Japanese Obi, or sashes traditionally worn by both Japanese men and women. A typical obi can measure around 14 feet by 12 inches wide, and may have ornate traditional patterns on one or both sides. The bags that Pamela creates from the obi material are all hand-stitched, and the buttons that adorn them are all vintage making them both modern and timeless pieces for any bag-loving fashonista.

Cheek bones tightly squeezed, lips curved downward, brows furrowed, squinting eyes shifting side-to-side, hypervigilance exploding throughout the dining room. She and her cohorts are on the prowl – not for leaping lions, crouching copperheads, scurrilous scorpions. No! For walkers. The bi-podal choice – nay, necessity – we elderly in my Assisted Living Facility.

Hi! I’m Tiara! For the last five months I’ve been a communications intern at AARP Oregon, working alongside Joyce Demonnin to bring engaging content to the AARP Oregon blog and social media pages. Today, June 30th, I turn back into a pumpkin; Yep, it’s my last day in the AARP Oregon office. Since I’ve been assisting with curating the office’s blog and creating new content for it, it seems only fitting that I wrap up my time here with a short reflection: