Book of Dreams: Foundation helps elderly secure ‘dignified, independent’ lifestyle

Valerie Barclay has seen the problems some elderly people face from two perspectives.

For years, the former assisted-living administrator was on the helping side, serving on the board of Adopt An Elder Foundation, a 19-year-old group that subsidizes housing arrangements for seniors.

In retirement, her husband’s illness and death drained her savings and Barclay went from being a provider of services to being one of the organization’s beneficiaries.

“You have a different perspective when you’re on this end,” said Barclay, 73. “I knew (as a board member) that it was wonderful and great, and it was doing the right thing. But to be able to receive that help makes me look back and know I did a good thing being there. Now I can see how it helps other seniors.”

Because she has been adopted by AAEF, she is able to be in assisted living housing. at the St. Francis Senior Residence in south Sacramento, where she receives general care including help with medications and meals.

Since 2001, AAEF has been supporting low-income, high-risk elders with advocacy and financial assistance – especially in housing.

The group’s chief task is assisting low-income seniors who can’t afford the rising costs of assisted living facilities.

Many of those people end up living in skilled nursing facilities even though they don’t really need the services offered there.

That’s because Medi-Cal provides money for people in skilled nursing homes but nothing for people seeking assisted living arrangements if they have incomes greater than $1,400 a month.

What AAEF does is provide $300 to $400 a month to help those people bridge the gap between what they can afford and the cost for assisted living, which starts at between $1,800 and $2,000 a month, said Homa Rostami, the group’s technology director.

“They can have a more dignified, independent lifestyle and we end up saving California thousands of dollars by getting the most out of skilled nursing facilities,” Rostami said.

The group is hoping that Book of Dreams readers will help with this mission by donating $5,000 to help one at-risk senior maintain an independent lifestyle for a year.

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To claim a tax deduction for 2020, donations must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2020. All contributions are tax-deductible and none of the money received will be spent on administrative costs. Partial contributions are welcome on any item. In cases where more money is received than requested for a given need, the excess will be applied to meeting unfulfilled needs in this Book of Dreams. Funds donated in excess of needs listed in this book will fulfill wishes received but not published and will be donated to social service agencies benefiting children at risk. The Sacramento Bee has verified the accuracy of the facts in each of these cases and we believe them to be bona fide cases of need. However, The Bee makes no claim, implied or otherwise, concerning their validity beyond the statement of these facts.

Matthew Crooks, a clinical social worker who serves on AAEF’s board, said the $1,400 cutoff for assistance for assisted living help has kept many people at much higher levels of care than necessary, creating unnecessary costs for the state.

“They were sitting in hospitals, taking up beds, or in very expensive nursing homes but they couldn’t be discharged” if they couldn’t afford more suitable living, he said.

“If they qualified for Medi-Cal, that was fine. But if (their income was) a dollar above $1,400, they couldn’t move. So as a community, we came up with Adopt an Elder Foundation.”

Originally, the gap that AAEF needed to bridge was usually around $300 a month. As costs have risen, the gap has grown to $400 to $500 a month. At the same time, the number of people needing help has been growing exponentially, the group’s leaders say.

“We get calls every day,” Crooks said. “And unfortunately because we adopt people for a lifetime, we have to be very careful about projecting out how far our resources will last. We’re not going to ditch somebody.”

AAEF operates only in Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo counties, which means its fundraising efforts are also only in those counties. As with so many nonprofits this year, fundraisers have had to be canceled due to the pandemic. The cost is high, the need is great, and the money is not coming in as planned.

“We draw from just our friends and supporters, and they have been wonderful,” Crooks said. “Our foundation is rare, in that we are a completely voluntary organization. We have no paid staff at all.”

Ninety-five percent of money given to AAEF goes directly toward the financial assistance of the 14 currently adopted seniors, he said. The wait list to get in the program is long, and the foundation would love to aid more seniors.

“We believe in quality of life,” said Crooks.

That means not sending people who don’t need institutionalized care to live on an institutionalized schedule. “Our goal is to prevent people who don’t need that – who would benefit from being in a community care setting – from going into nursing homes sooner than necessary,” he said.

Board and care facilities are typically suburban homes with 24-hour assistance, but where residents are able to choose their own schedules and keep their usual routines.

They are able to get help when they need it, but to the degree they are able to stay independent, they can do so.

“In an institution like a nursing home, you have to do everything on their schedule. Bathing, eating, activities,” Crooks said. “And in board and care, it’s much more individualized. If they want to take a bath at night like they did their whole lives, or take a shower versus a bath or a bath versus a shower, or they want certain types of food – it becomes completely individualized. And that’s quality of life, too. Our goal is to prevent institutionalization before it’s needed.”

Another of the group’s adoptees is Gerry Jensen. Thanks to the AAEF, he’s been in his assisted living residence for the past two years. He had been in similar housing before that but didn’t feel his care was adequate.

“It’s a night and day difference,” Jensen said of the two facilities. “The whole house, the owners, the food they bring you ... the owner we have here is really great. Anything we need, she helps us. She’s a really good person and cares for us.”

He said someone from the foundation brings him Christmas gifts each year and he’s recommended the program to others.

“There’s a lot of people who could use it,” he said.