AgeSmart

10/17/2026

This ask would bring an extra $500,000 to our area, helping our partners provide 380 additional neighbors with meals and visits.

What's sweeter than a knock at the door?

A healthy meal delivered with care by a familiar face! Home delivered meals are . Home delivered meals mean wellness checks, socialization, and quality nutrition.

Across Illinois, older adults continue to wait for this vital service. That's why we are asking the General Assembly for $10 million in additional appropriations to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of our communities across the state.

10/17/2026

A toothache seems like a small thing, until it's the reason someone stops eating enough.

October is National Dental Hygiene Month, and oral health tends to get overlooked in conversations about healthy aging, even though it's connected to far more than a bright smile. Poor oral health has been linked to malnutrition, heart disease, and even a higher risk of pneumonia in older adults, and dental problems can make eating painful enough that people quietly start avoiding certain foods altogether.

Dry mouth from medications, difficulty with fine motor skills that make brushing harder, and dental coverage gaps in traditional Medicare all make this a bigger challenge for older adults than people often realize.

Regular dental checkups, even for people with dentures, and simple daily habits like brushing twice a day, can prevent problems that are far more disruptive once they start.

When's the last time you or a loved one saw a dentist? Tell us if cost or access has ever gotten in the way.

10/17/2026

Abuse doesn't stop being abuse just because the people involved have been married for forty years.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and older adults are too often left out of that conversation, even though elder abuse, including abuse by a spouse or family member, remains widespread and widely underreported. Isolation, dependence on a caregiver, cognitive changes, or simply a lifetime of not having the language for what's happening can all make it harder for an older adult to reach out for help.

Abuse isn't only physical. It can be financial control, emotional manipulation, or neglect, and it can be just as damaging without ever leaving a visible mark.

If something doesn't feel right, in your own life or someone else's, you don't have to have proof to reach out. AgeSmart can help connect you with resources and support, confidentially and without judgment.

This is heavy, we know. If you or someone you love needs support, please reach out to us or to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Know someone who might need this information? Share this post, it might reach someone who needs it today.

10/17/2026

10/16/2026

The keys sitting untouched on the counter can say more than any conversation ever did.

This Dementia Friendly Friday, we're talking about one of the hardest conversations in caregiving: when it's time to stop driving. For many older adults, driving represents independence itself, and taking that away, even gently, even necessarily, can feel like a loss layered on top of the diagnosis itself.

Rather than one dramatic conversation, this decision often goes better as a series of smaller ones, starting with a conversation with a doctor, who can offer an outside, less personal reason for the change. Involving a neutral third party, like a physician or a driving evaluation program, can take some of the emotional weight off family members having to be the ones who say no.

Replacing the loss matters too. Lining up rides, whether through family, friends, or a transportation service, before the keys are taken away can soften what's otherwise a hard transition.

Has your family navigated this conversation? What made it a little easier? Share below.

10/16/2026

Caregiving can wear you down even when you're not alone in it. Sometimes the thing that actually helps is sitting across from someone who's lived it too.

Join us for Coffee with Caregivers, a relaxed, no-pressure gathering built for connection, not curriculum. There's nothing to prepare and no agenda to follow, just a room full of people who understand the exhaustion, the guilt, and the small wins that don't always make sense to explain to anyone else.

Bring whatever you're carrying that week. Some people come to vent, some come to swap a tip that's actually worked, and some just come to sit quietly and listen. Every conversation stays confidential, and every caregiver is welcome, wherever you are in your journey.

You don't have to have it together to show up to Pour322 on Tuesday, October 21 at 9:00... or so.

Call 618-222-2561 for time and location, and let us know in the comments if we'll see you there.

10/15/2026

As of October 15, AgeSmart's SHIP Counselors are fully booked for all Open Enrollment appointments.

Medicare clients who need assistance with enrollment should reach out to one of our SHIP partners below or contact www.medicare.gov for assistance.
Bond: Bond County Senior Citizens Center, Inc. & Bond County Health Department
Clinton: Clinton County Senior Services
Madison: Senior Services Plus Inc. SSP & Collinsville Faith in Action
Monroe: Waterloo Senior Center
Randolph: Sparta Senior Center & Chester Senior Center
St. Clair: Southwestern Illinois College Programs & Services for Older Persons (PSOP), Community Lifeline East Saint Louis, Millstadt Senior Center, & LINC, Inc.

Additionally, we will not be able to assist with New to Medicare until December 10.

We do have a few spots left through the end of the year to help community members with LIHEAP and other benefits paperwork.

10/14/2026

Gloves that dull your sense of touch. Headphones filling your ears with static. Glasses that blur everything you look at. For twelve minutes, that's what dementia can feel like from the inside.

Hospice of Southern Illinois, INC. is bringing their Dementia Live® training to the Bond County Health Department on Tuesday, October 20th at 10:30 AM, and it's unlike any presentation you've sat through before. Instead of slides about dementia, participants put on sensory-altering gear and try to complete ordinary tasks, folding laundry, sorting change, getting dressed, while experiencing something close to the confusion and sensory overload that dementia can cause. Most people walk out of it seeing their loved one's frustration in a completely different light.

The training takes place at 1520 S. 4th Street in Greenville. Seating is limited, so you'll need to call ahead and reserve your spot before October 20th. Call AgeSmart at 618-222-2561 to save yours.

Have you ever tried a dementia simulation like this before? Tell us what stuck with you.

10/13/2026

The clocks fall back in less than three weeks, and for someone living with dementia, that hour doesn't just disappear quietly.

Caregiver Tip Tuesday: Daylight saving time ends on November 1st this year, and the shift can genuinely disrupt sleep, appetite, and mood for older adults, especially those living with dementia, who often rely heavily on routine and daylight cues to stay oriented. Rather than waiting for the change to hit all at once, consider shifting meal times, medication schedules, and bedtime by ten or fifteen minutes every few days between now and then.

This gradual approach gives the body more time to adjust and can soften what's often a rough week for caregivers and their loved ones alike. It's a small thing to plan for now that can save you a harder week later.

Have you noticed time changes affecting your loved one's routine in past years? Tell us what's helped.

10/12/2026

It was a busy weekend for our partners! Washington County Senior Services was out with their famous cinnamon rolls at the Okawville Chili Cookoff.
We hope you saved us a few!