Guest speakers Emily and Sarah from Merri-Bek Council Age Well Program

At last night’s Pascoe Vale Rotary meeting, we had the pleasure of hearing from Emily Georgopoulos and Sarah Hussein from Merri-bek City Council. Emily is an Age Well Planner at the Council and works closely with older people, carers, and community members to help connect them with services, supports, and opportunities that promote healthy, active, and connected ageing. Sarah is a Zero Waste Outreach Officer who shares information about initiatives that council offers to help our community be more sustainable.

An Age Well Planner takes you through the process of planning for your future, like your personal assistant in the aged care world. They help you access programs to keep you active and learning, such as classes at neighbourhood houses, U3A, and opportunities for volunteering.

We learnt that when it comes to aged care package applications, people may see the term ‘assistive technology’ as an option for a support they can access. However, people assume it is some kind of technology device they don’t need when in fact it refers to items such as an angled spoon or an electric mobility scooter!

We also heard about the subsidies available in Merri-bek for the installation of solar panels, home insulation, composting system, cloth nappies and adult incontinence items.

There are so many services Merri-bek Council offers for our seniors, and we encourage you to fully explore what Council has to offer. Information is on the Council’s website or available in print form (as shown in the second photo).

Thank you Emily and Sarah for sharing this information with us all!