My father ended up in the hospital at the age of 85 and it became apparent that my parents needed some help. My mother, also 85 was suffering from dementia. They had some in-home services and were getting meals through the meals o wheels program.

When I met with the hospital social worker it was the first time I was introduced to “resources” for seniors. The social worker printed 20 pages with names and web addresses for a variety of senior services and housing options.

None of the information was vetted and it could all be found on the internet. I was actually looking for recommendations and a little help.

If you are elderly or are caring for elderly parents or grandparents you will be offered “resources”. To be honest they are less than helpful. Sometimes people who are experts or counselors or social workers are also salespeople.

The salespeople do not identify themselves as salespeople but once I became familiar with the business models I understood why the free resources were not helpful.

There is one free resource that is actually a resource and that is the Senior Linkage Line. I have a link to the website on my right sidebar.  It is the go-to place for seniors who are interested in senior housing, particularly assisted living.

Linkage Line is a service through the Minnesota Board on Aging and is free. It usually doesn’t show up on lists of “resources”.

“The Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA) works to ensure that older Minnesotans and their families are effectively served by state and local policies and programs, so they can age well and live well. The MBA does this through its three major roles: administrator, advisor, and advocate.” [MBA mission statement]

Most of us don’t want to be sold to but sometimes we need advice or we need to know what our options are.