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Statement Of Marcy Meffert
Environmental Protection Agency
Aging Initiative Public Listening Session
San Antonio, Texas
April 8, 2003
Marcy Meffert
Mayor of Leon Valley, TX
Chair, Alamo Area Council of Governments
Mayor of Leon Valley, TX
Chair, Alamo Area Council of Governments
I am Marcy Meffert, Mayor of Leon Valley, Chairman of AACOG, Member of the Bexar County Aging Texas Well Community Planning Panel which seeks to identify problems elderly Baby Boomers might have in 2030, -- Personally I don't expect to have any problems in 2030 --- I will most likely be a problem. I am also a member of the Northwest Seniors which meets in Leon Valley and the AARP.
My fellow seniors say that the Transportation Environment is a major problem.
- And it isn't just having your keys taken away because you can't drive safely anymore. I believe that there ought to be periodic testing and more drivers' education courses to ensure that seniors and others are driving safely.
- Those who drive are confronted with visual clutter that makes finding business or traffic signs difficult. My city Leon Valley has just passed a new sign ordinance that will decrease the numbers of signs allowed for each business location.
- Senior drivers also need larger print on the signs.
- Those who cannot drive need readily available public transportation, especially transport available with short notice. Currently, reservations for transport must be made well in advance. Some seniors rely on relatives or friends to take them to the doctor or supermarket.Several people in my city drive their fellow Northwest seniors and neighbors to their destinations. but if these people have to cancel, it's difficult to get a replacement and some can't afford cab fare.
- VIA has a new policy in which seniors and disabled riders and their companions can ride free and have easier access to the new lower step buses. However, how the person gets to a bus stop is a whole other issue. For some, crossing busy streets is as difficult as walking several blocks to the bus stop.
- Home safety inspections that would reveal hazards to disabled seniors, their caregivers, and to children being cared for by grandparents.
- There is a need for inspection of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide monitors, and fire safety conditions such as deteriorating or improperly used extension cords, excessive accumulations of flammable junk and products.
- Bathrooms and kitchens can be very hazardous environments. Some years ago, in our city, an elderly woman with no local family, was monitored by her neighbors. However when they returned from a trip, they discovered that she had been in her bathtub for 12-hours because she couldn't get out. Safety bars, shower seats, and other devices are needed and some elderly people don't think to get them or cannot afford them.
- Seniors need to know which and when environmental conditions are hazardous to their health such as ozone alerts to protect those with lung diseases.
- Seniors need support groups for grandparents parenting grandchildren. This number is growing and safety for children living in a previously all adult environment is an issue.
- We need to encourage seniors to volunteer to monitor each other with a phone committee or telephone tree system that would make sure each live-alone senor got at least one call daily to make sure all is OK. These things provide social contact as well as safety checks, a value to the caller and the callee.
- Better and less costly devices that summon emergency assistance are needed for homebound and live-alone seniors.
- Care for caregivers is vital. Exhausted caregivers can't maintain their own or others' safe environment.
All seniors should be able to get by with a little help from their fellow seniors and others in the community.
All of us will be seniors one day, unless the alternative occurs, and all of us should have a healthy, safe environment in which to spend our later years.
Thank You.