October will feature Human Services presentations on hot topics on the new models for the aging population of Fairfax County. Steve Gurney, acting head of the Reston for Life committee and the Founder/CEO of The Living Source Retirement Guide, (http://www.retirement-living.com/proaging-network/) will give an overview of their initiatives and current phased projects. I think we will all enjoy hearing about The Reston for Life planning committee’s work, particularly their “let’s get it going now” attitude. They are a 100% community initiative with strong support from Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins. They are very open to learning, teaming and sharing with others. Many Fairfax communities could, can and will benefit from their extensive research and community tools to make a similar program work for them.

The Human Services presentation will also include Patricia Rohrer, Fairfax County ‘s Long Term Care Program Development Director and the Long Term Care Council Facilitator along with Bob Eiffert, Manager of Fairfax County’s Long Term Care Programs. They will give an update of current activities and, the department’s plans and goals for the future. Aging in place meaning staying within your community is an important part of their work. Much of Patricia and Bob’s focus is insuring that the needed resources, community partnerships and facilitators are or will be, in place. The coming big wave of Fairfax’s aging population make these plans so critical. We hope that you will join us for this exciting evening’s program.

A strong volunteer force within the community is critical and vital to human resources fulfillment. Emergency management tasks for natural or man-made disasters not covered by the town/city employees duties are important.

For emergencies we need to make sure the supplies are in place, and phone call trees and emergency numbers updated. This may seem like old news, but it is surprising how often we aren't prepared. We need to create or refresh lists of individuals and resources within the community, which in turn help individuals and families including seniors, the disabled, new to the community or from foreign lands, and those experiencing tough times. Updating volunteer lists to handle a variety of duties from snow shoveling, leaf removal, minor home maintenance, tools loans, refreshing emergency call lists, is a real need.