AARP Oregon

Sometimes when we’re in the community, we’ll hear from someone who says, “I’ve never met a real person from AARP!” Yes, there is an AARP Oregon State Office with a staff of 7 plus a great team of volunteer partners. We’re active on issues that matter to you and your family. In this season of gratitude and reflection, we want to share with you some of the highlights from our work this year.

A group of women friends, from generations ahead of me, all nodded in agreement when one said, “In high school I didn’t want to learn to type.” It took me a moment to understand the implication of the comment and how learning to type often meant being channeled into secretarial work, which they didn’t want to do. By the time I was in high school, typing class was an introductory course to computer science, and the book and movie “Free to Be You and Me” had ushered many of my generation through childhood to believe we had more career choices. In a similar way, I am now grateful to see new perspectives on aging catching on. It makes me hopeful more doors will open to opportunities as I grow older, including in the workplace.

AARP Oregon salutes Oregon's nearly 470,000 family caregivers during November's National Family Caregiver Month. We also recognize it's a tough job. A bit of rest now and then, or "respite care," helps prevent significant stress and burnout that can lead to worse health for the caregiver, and diminish the caregiver's ability to provide good care to their loved one. Caregivers need short breaks!

By Dick Weinman, AARP Volunteer and Assisted Living Guru

Bobby Heagerty has education in her blood. Born into a family of educators, teaching became her professional path as well. But a fascination with the brain led her out of the K-12 classroom environment and toward Oregon Health and Sciences University where her innovative adult education and outreach programs eventually resulted in her receiving the neuroscience educator of the year in 2013 from the Society of Neuroscience, the first non-neuroscientist to receive it.

Veterans Day is a good time to remind our friends and family who served their country in the military that veterans are a special target for some kinds of frauds and cons warns AARP Oregon.

AARP Oregon is sponsoring three Vital Aging conferences across the state for AARP members and their family members and friends. The events are free, educational and fun. Speakers will explain how to parlay age and experience into new possibilities and how to foster an attitude that the best is yet to come.

By Dick Weinman, AARP Oregon volunteer and Assisted Living Guru

I just spent two hours or so searching the lists of documents for the blogs I’ve written for AARP – they go back to 2013. I wanted to find one in particular that I remember writing in September (or was it August?) I can’t remember.

On October 6 and 7th, AARP Oregon, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Portland for Everyone and Urban Land Institute hosted Housing and Neighborhood for All: Affordability, Accessibility and the "Missing Middle," a three-part event series focused on exploring how the Portland metro region can create more housing options, identifying barriers and challenges to more innovative housing that support residents across age, ability and income spectrums and how "missing middle housing" can be instrumental in building successful multi-generational communities.