Golden hosts another informative senior fair

Informative was the word of the day as State Senator Marty Golden hosted his annual senior fair on Friday, June 23 at St. Patrick’s Auditorium, 9511 Fourth Avenue. The event included lunch, live music and a wealth of information for seniors from agencies such as the FDNY, AARP and more.

Golden, who hosts the event regularly, offered around 400 seniors the chance to take advantages of services available to assist them with prescription drug coverage, personal safety and health.

“It’s an important event,” Golden told this paper. “A lot of people live in isolation and you want to make sure they’re getting the right answers. The great thing is when you get seniors together, they get out and get the opportunity to talk to each other. They have that connection. A lot of seniors have nobody and are by themselves. Some of them get depressed and lonely. This gives them the opportunity to go out and have exchanges with other seniors.”

Along with having a chance to mingle, the state senator also emphasized the significance of providing vital information. “A lot of them have issues such as rent control, owning a home and not being able to pay the taxes, or transportation with Access a Ride,” he said. “We have one of the largest senior populations in the state living here in Bay Ridge and Dyker. Brooklyn is number one when it comes to seniors and they have a lot of issues. Some seniors can’t afford to get certain things installed. We get that done for them.”

“This is a great event,” Firefighter George Tabeek said. “We’re talking about fire safety to keep seniors safe. Among the most likely people to die in a fire are seniors and children so we have information that pertains specifically to seniors.” In addition, FDNY gave out oven mitts, “to make sure they’re safe.”

“The seniors love it as it’s a very informative event for the participants,” added Bay Ridge AARP Treasurer Patricia Killen. “We take care of AARP information, knowing your rights about Medicare, how to be careful as a senior not to be hurt by fraud. There’s been a lot of interest.”

“We’ve had a lot of people that have come to the table asking information because the annual election period is coming up in October that’s when people can change their coverage,” said Louis Peters, also of Bay Ridge AARP.

Education was also on the agenda as Kingsborough Community College was on hand. “What we have are programs for people 60 and over,” said volunteer Josephine Vella. “You could can actually attend college and take classes for fun or get a degree if they’d like. I got involved with it because both my parents have Alzheimer’s and I’m a nurse practitioner and I know that socialization and mental stimulation is really important to help prevent it. It’s also important for quality of life.”

Attendees were equally excited about the event.

“I learned and AARP and all the illnesses of old age that could help us,” said Maria G. “It was very informative as always.”

“It’s very nice event, added Renee Berkowitze. “It has lots of information and very friendly people. One of my main concerned were plans to help the handicapped.”