Stroke Awareness – Content by Judy
Yes, it is a true emergency!! If anyone, any age has sudden numbness in their face, arm, leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, lack of coordination. Sudden severe headache with no known cause. Call 911 right away!! This is a real emergency. If left unattended the consequences can be life altering if not fatal.
If you think someone might be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T.
F—Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
A—Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S—Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is the speech slurred or strange?
T—Time: If you see any of these signs, call 9-1-1 right away.
The sooner someone is treated the better the outcome. Strokes can be potentially reversed or at least stopped if a stroke is treated within the first 3 hours. Call an ambulance. Do not drive them!! The crew on the ambulance can start treatment sooner and the outcome will be better. You want life-saving treatment as soon as possible!!
If you think you are having a stroke call 911 right away. You might not be able to make that call even a few minutes later.
Every year over 800,000 people have a stoke. Nearly 150,000 die each year. Strokes are the leading cause of serious long-term disability. BUT 80% of strokes are PREVENTABLE!!
Most strokes are caused by clots blocking blood flow in the brain and strokes are a leading cause of disability. Some ways to prevent or lower your risk of having a stroke is to stop smoking, limit alcohol, maintain a healthy weight, eat plenty of veggies and fruit, and exercise. Also be sure you are managing your diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. Stress and depression can also contribute to the risk of a stroke.
By looking at your own risk factors of having a stroke and living a healthier lifestyle you can help reduce the odds of having a stroke. Be sure to review all of this with your health care professionals. Check with them before taking or changing supplements to see if they are right for you. Get regular checkups. Reach out to other professionals for help to improve your lifestyle.
And it is never too late to change! Talk to your doctor and modify some things in your life!!
Reminders for Energy Assistance 2020-2021 Season
March 31, 2021 is the Deadline for fuel authorizations or deliveries.
May 3, 2021 is the last day that a household can apply to establish its eligibility for benefits unless the household is utility heated and has a shut-off notice for its primary source of heat.
May 14, 2021 is the last day that a utility heated household with a shut-off notice for its primary heat can apply to establish its eligibility for benefits.
May 31st is the last day to submit deliverable fuel bills.
Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program
The application filing period for the Elderly and totally Disabled Tax Relief Program is from February 1 thru May 15, 2021.
Please be aware that the IRS has issued specific guidance about the 2020 stimulus payments and have stated that these payments are not categorized as income, therefore, any economic stimulus payments received during calendar year 2020 WILL NOT count as income for these tax relief programs.
Qualifying income guidelines for the Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program are $37,600 for unmarried individuals and $45,800.00 for married persons.
If you are currently participating in the Homeowner Program and need to reapply, you will receive notice from the Preston Assessor’s Office advising you of that requirement.
Proof of all sources of income including but not limited to Social Security, pensions, interest statements, employment, etc. are required. If you filed Income Tax, a copy of the signed and dated document is necessary to provide as well. It is extremely important that you provide all necessary documentation for the application to be completed.
Due to the COVIC-19 pandemic, the application process will change this year. I will be asking you to drop-off your paperwork in the blue Drop Box located at the front entrance to the Preston Town Hall. I will review your information and contact you by telephone to complete your application. I will arrange a time that is mutually acceptable to have you return to the Preston Town Hall to sign the application(s). At which time, I will return any/all original documents which you have provided.
Please call the office at 860-887-5581 ext. 6 informing me that you dropped off your information at the Town Hall. (if leaving a phone message, please include your name and telephone number. The application process does not begin until February 1st.
AARP Tax Assistance Program
Regrettably, the Preston Senior Center will not host the AARP Tax
Assistance Program during this tax season. The COVID-19 pandemic is the
primary reason. BUT existing clients will be encouraged to contact the Rose City Senior Center, 8 Mahan Drive, Norwich to receive assistance with their income tax preparation. NO NEW CLIENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Beginning during January, you are encouraged to contact the Rose City Senior Center at 860-889-5960 to schedule an appointment.
For those individuals who are existing clients only:
New to the process is that you will have to go to the Rose City Senior
Center at least 48 hours prior to your appointment to pick-up a booklet to be completed. (This is the same type of information that you would routinely complete at our center). You will need to complete the paperwork and include it with your income tax information. (Do not place your information in a plastic bag as the virus can live longer in that environment). It is suggested that you place your documents in a secure location within your locked vehicle trunk until the time of your appointment.
Drive-thru service will remain the same as last year. You drive up, staff will
take your paperwork out of the trunk of your car, they work on it and give you a call on your cell phone when they have questions or when your income tax is completed. Appointments will be available on Tuesday and Thursday only.
You will also need a cell phone available so that you can be contacted when
the AARP tax preparer completes your document.
Fortitude – Content by Judy
As I worked on my Vision Board for 2021, I searched for that all important key word – for me and for SeniorCenterCt.org. What one word was the best fit? What word would portray and define my path for 2021?
Many businesses and individuals pick one word that best describes how they want to be characterized and/or strive to achieve in the upcoming year.
Well, I wanted to do this as well but as much as I searched, I just could not find the right word. I kept at it. I would revisit and wander down the path of words I’d see from time to time. And yeah, there wasn’t ever quite the right fit until…
This week I was walking along the ocean in Westbrook for the second day in a row and as I let my mind wander, there it was – fortitude. Wow, I mulled it over. Said it out loud and knew it was the word I had been searching for.
FORTITUDE – courage in adversity. Isn’t this exactly what we all have been doing since COVID came to visit and did not leave just like an unwanted house guest. We all discovered that we have the strength of mind to endure a 2-week shelter in place that has turned into a year plus. We have discovered we have gumption, spunk, moxie and determination. We can and are surviving.
And as I traveled down 2020, I struggled just as many businesses did on whether SeniorCenterCt.org would survive or was it time to shut the doors and close down Jencks Network, LLC. There were no new sales happening and little money coming in. But the bills continued arriving. The question became “Is today the time to file for bankruptcy?”
But I also knew I have a product that is stunning and needed by so many. Also, that as we come out of COVID I know other businesses are going to be looking for “new” ways to advertise. That post COVID we all will be in a “new world” and SeniorCenterCt.org is in the best position ever to thrive and grow into the business I have always know it will be.
So, I reached out for grants, PPP, EIDL and anything else that might give me the money I needed to survive. And as I said “FORTITUDE” on the beach, I knew that is exactly what I have been doing. What I will continue to do as SeniorCenterCt.org grows in 2021. A new Senior Center is being added. A different calendar platform will be used. Other changes are in the works. I know that FORTITUDE is the strength and strong will that carries me patiently forward with firm courage.
This word – FORTITUDE — reflects back at me as I read my 2021 Vision Board. It says – I will experience everyday humility, curiosity, courage and confidence. I will always ask “Why?” I will look for and see the clues.
Because I have the ability to carry on, because I and all of us who have survived COVID we all have FORTITUDE!
And yes, you have been traveling this same journey even if your path looks a little different, we all have had the strength to bear through a pandemic and have the ability to carry on!! We have guts, grit, backbone and FORTITUDE!!