Tag Archives for COVID-19

With Thanksgiving approaching, beat the Holiday Blues

Published on November 22, 2021 in RINewsToday

Just a year ago, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic transformed the way we celebrated the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Normally a personal gathering day with family and close friends, the cooler weather pushed people inside where the virus more easily spreads, forcing families to meet on Zoom for turkey dinner and catching up.

Today, COVID-19 vaccines have made it safer to bring families together to this annual holiday gathering. With the nation’s borders now open and 195 million Americans fully vaccinated and new travel guidelines in place, AAA predicts more than 53.4 million people are expected to travel to reunite with their loved ones, the highest single-year increase since 2005.

But like previous Thanksgiving celebrations, not every family gathering will be as serene as the one portrayed in Noman Rockwell’s iconic Freedom from Want painting that appeared in the March 6, 1943 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Thoughts of attending the upcoming gathering might just tear open psychological wounds and bring to the surface bad memories, triggering stress, tension, and even depression.

Increased family demands and obligations that begin before Thanksgiving and continue through Christmas, and finally New Year’s Eve, can bring about the holiday blues, sad feelings specific to the holiday season. While there is no formal diagnosis of the holiday blues, these feelings are quite real for some people. Usually, it is felt by people who are going through the first holiday after a loss of a significant person in their life or a bad childhood memory from past the holidays. 

Holiday stresses brought about by last minute shopping for gifts, baking and cooking, cleaning and hosting parties, and even having unrealistic expectations can trigger depression. It can also bring about a feeling of malaise, tiredness, headaches, excessive drinking and overeating and even difficulty in sleeping.

COVID-19 and the Holiday Blues

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there was less stress because people were not doing face-to-face gatherings, says Elaine Rodino, Ph.D., psychologist in private practice for over 41 years in California and Pennsylvania. “But it still came up because they were worried about Uncle Morrie showing up on Zoom,” she says.

The COVID-19 pandemic is overshadowing this year’s holiday season yet again, says Rodino, who is former president of the American Psychological Associations’ Division 46 (Society for Media Psychology & Technology), and Division 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice), the Los Angles County Association, and the Central Pennsylvania Psychological Association.

“There’s plenty of mitigating news this year about inflation and how prices are higher on almost all items including Thanksgiving Day dinner. People having financial issues this year can let themselves feel better by realizing that they are not alone. Many people are suffering economically through no fault of their own,” Rodino says.

“We’ve been experiencing many new ways of having to think about things,” adds Rodino, urging people to “be flexible and find new ways to enjoy life with less dependence on material things.”

According to Rodino, preplanning your visit can be the best way to reduce holiday blues. “Give thought to what you’re expecting and determine if your expectations are valid or just wishful thinking. Then decide to literally “make the best of it” by focusing on the good things and the good reasons why you’re making this visit,” she advises.

Putting the Kibosh on Hot Topics at Dinner

What can you do to steer away from heated political debates or sensitive issues including “why aren’t you vaccinated?”

Stressful situations at Thanksgiving gatherings can be reduced if you give thought to what to expect in visiting with your relatives. “Plan ahead on how you’re going to avoid being taken down a rabbit hole of controversy. How are you are going to pivot away from conversations when you see them going in a dangerous direction?”  

Rodino adds, “Remember who they are and how they think. Since it’s only a limited time visit, try to remain neutral. Don’t try to change anyone’s thinking. Things usually go badly when people try to convince others to think the way they do. That never goes well.”

You can plan ahead about how you will handle these conversations. “Do not fight!  There will be no winner. Talk about sports, the weather (not climate change), how delicious the food is, even how cute the dog is,” recommends Rodino.

“It’s best to accept that everyone has their own opinions (even if some seem very bizarre). Just think to yourself that you will soon be going back to your own home. You do not need to try to convince anyone about anything,” adds Rodino.

“When feeling stress, it’s important to realize that it’s time limited. Take care of yourself, whether it’s exercising, taking a warm bath, or just taking a break and reading a book. “There needs to be just some time that you just check out from the holiday stress part,” she says.

The holiday blues should begin to fade away by the first couple of weeks in January, notes Rodino. “So, if people are still feeling that, like say the second, third week of January, then they really should talk with a psychologist, because there could be issues that really need to be sorted out and processed,” she says.

With the ongoing pandemic we need to create new ways of doing things, says Rodino, noting that “People need to become creative and think up new ways to celebrate.”

As to compiling other strategies to cope with the holiday blues, Rodino suggests Googling ideas for surviving the pandemic holidays. “There’s something there for everyone,” she says.

Depression and Suicidal Thoughts

During this time of year, some may even feel a little depressed or have suicidal thoughts. Losses of all types can weigh heavily on anyone, but loss from COVID-19 has tragically impacted on so many and we can now add the pandemic to the challenges many face along with unemployment, experiencing painful chronic illnesses, or just feeling isolated from others. Sometimes, you aren’t ready for professional help from a doctor or mental health professional. Sometimes, you just need someone to talk to.

Think about calling The Samaritans of Rhode Island – where trained volunteers “are there to listen.” Incorporated in 1977, the Pawtucket-based nonprofit program is dedicated to listening to those in need through its nonjudgment befriending hotline/listening line program serving all of the state’s 39 cities and towns.

Executive Director, Denise Panichas, of the Rhode Island branch, notes that the communication-based program teaches volunteers to effectively listen to people no matter the caller’s issues or status. “You don’t need insurance, you don’t need to be in crisis, you don’t need to be in professional care, you don’t need a diagnosis to call. Most importantly, conversations are free, confidential and anonymous.

And, Panichas notes, for those in professional care, Samaritan volunteers can  be there to listen when family, friends and professionals are not available.

Panichas noted The Samaritans of Rhode Island Listening Line is also a much-needed resources for caregivers and older Rhode Islanders. Caregiving is both rewarding but most caregivers don’t want to talk about the stress to family and friends. Caregivers don’t want to be a bother to anyone. Caregivers need to know, however, that they are never a bother to our Listening line volunteers.

This year, The Samaritans partnered with Rhode Island Meals on Wheels to share information about the availability of the Listening Line services to homebound seniors. Family members are encouraged to share The Samaritans telephone number with seniors who are family members living alone, or even for those seniors living in facilities – most have private phones and they can call, too.

The Samaritans of Rhode Island can be the gateway to care or a “compassionate nonjudgmental voice on the other end of the line,” Panichas notes. “It doesn’t matter what your problem is, be it depression, suicidal thoughts, seeking resources for mental health services in the community, or being lonely or just needing to talk, our volunteers are there to listen.”

Suicide prevention education is still a very important feature of the agency’s mission. For persons in need of more information about suicide emergencies, The Samaritans website, http://www.samaritansri.org, has an emergency checklist as well as information by city and town including Blackstone Valley communities from Pawtucket to Woonsocket.

Holiday giving to financially support the programs of The Samaritans of Rhode Island is always welcomed. Donations can be made online at its website or by mail to: The Samaritans of Rhode Island, P.O. Box 9086, Providence Rhode Island 02940.

Emergency? Call 911. Need to talk? Call a volunteer at The Samaritans. Call 401.272.4044 or toll free in RI (1-800) 365-4044.

Use ARPA Funds to Make Rhode Island “Age Friendly”

Published on the November 1, 2021 in RINewsToday

With the first public hearing cancelled because of Wednesday’s nor’easter on Oct. 26, Gov. Dan McKee and Lt. Gov Sabina Matos, along with Commerce Director Stefan Pryor and their staff, came to Warren’s Hope & Main to kick off the second public hearing to gather comments about the recently released “Rhode Island 2030: Charting a Course for the Future of the Ocean State.”  The 55-page “working” paper studied and analyzed options for spending the funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Over 50 people came to Warren to give their suggestions as to how the COVID-19 federal dollars should be spent. Problems to address included: lack of affordable housing, the growing homeless program, recovering from the pandemic and rebuilding the state’s economy, and creating an age-friendly state.  

During his testimony, West Warwick resident Vincent Marzullo advised McKee and Matos not to forget Rhode Island’s increasing aging population. According to Marzullo, for the first time in recorded history, there are more people over the age of 64 in the world than children under five. In Rhode Island, over 31 percent of residents are age 55 or older, and by 2030 one-quarter of our population will be over 65. 

While many of the Rhode Island’s 2030 report’s draft recommendations, as well as suggestions from the RI Foundation and AFL-CIO, are worthy, “what is obvious in the current draft is the lack of specific attention, focus and strategy needed to get to an age-friendly designation, said Marzullo, a well-known aging advocate who served as a federal civil rights and social justice Director in Rhode Island for the Corporation for National & Community Service.

“Don’t we now have an obligation to insure better healthcare, safety, housing, livability, caregiving, etc. for this aging population?” Marzullo asked.  

One way for Rhode Island to accomplish this is to join the AARP Age-Friendly Network of States and Communities, which defines eight interconnected domains that can help to identify and address barriers to the well-being and participation of older people. 

State Director Catherine Taylor says that AARP Rhode Island has been working toward making Rhode Island age-friendly for most of the past three years and in a letter back in mid-July urged the governor and state leaders to use ARPA to accelerate AARP’s effort.  

“We are on the cusp of an opportunity to improve livability dramatically,” adds Taylor. “AARP Rhode Island has urged Governor McKee and state leaders to designate a substantial portion of the $1.8 billion in federal ARPA funds to areas that contribute to further development of age-friendly cities and towns — prioritizing healthcare, housing, public transportation, and the long-term services and supports that are essential to older Rhode Islanders,” she says.

The defined domains of AARP Age-Friendly cities are: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings (people need public places to gather — indoors and out); Transportation (driving shouldn’t be the only way to get around); Housing; Social Participation; Respect and Social Inclusion; Work and Civic Engagement; Communication; and Information and Community and Health Services.

Eight other states have obtained “Age-Friendly” status in collaboration with AARP and The World Health Organization (WHO).  

“Well-designed, livable communities promote well-being, sustain economic growth, and make for happier, healthier residents — of all ages,” said Taylor. “That is why AARP has guided Newport, Cranston, Providence and, most recently, Westerly into membership in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. While we are in discussion with other towns and cities who have shown interest, it has been our goal for some time to see that the State of Rhode Island also joins,” she says.

“A key benefit of the Network is the abundance information and support that membership provides. State leaders would have access to global resources on age-friendly best practices, models of assessment and implementation, and the experiences of other states, cities and towns around the world,” notes Taylor.

“The Network helps participating communities become great places for people of all ages by adopting features such as safe, walkable streets; better housing and transportation options; access to key services; and opportunities for residents to participate in civic and community activities. We believe that Rhode Islanders of all ages prefer living in an age-friendly environment. Many, especially older people, are eager to be involved in the process,” adds Taylor.

Marzullo urged McKee to issue an Executive Order, charging the Lt. Governor to convene representatives from the aging community to design and develop an operational plan for Rhode Island to be designed as an “Age Friendly State.”  The groups should include AARP, Age Friendly RI (RIC), the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council (LTCCC), RI Office of Healthy Aging, United Way RI, RI Senior Center Directors Association, RI Elder Info, Senior Agenda Coalition/RI & the RI Commission on National & Community Service (RIDE). 

Creating a Well-Designed Livable Community for Seniors

Maureen Maigret, policy consultant and chair of the Aging in Community Subcommittee of Rhode Island’s Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, notes that the Subcommittee has worked successfully to address “age friendly” domains for several years and that Rhode Island’s 2023 State Plan on Aging also calls for the state to be designated as ‘Age Friendly’ and to work with its partners to promote livable communities for all ages.

“While a formal state commitment through an Executive Order has not happened a number of state agencies such as Environmental Management have been working to embrace age-friendly principles in their work, says Maigret, noting our Rhode Island municipalities have made a commitment to make their communities age-friendly.

In a Sept. 23 Providence Journal op-ed, Maigret called for making Rhode Island age-friendly, recommending that the General Assembly invest in the state’s growing older population. “Knowing that 50-70% of older persons will need some type of long-term services as they age, our most important immediate challenge is to stabilize the paid workforce that helps with the supports needed to remain living at home and to ensure we provide quality congregate care,” says Maigret. 

“We must take immediate steps to secure competitive, living wages for our direct care workers who assist with these tasks and to provide more supportive services for our hundreds of unpaid caregivers who care for loved ones, adds Maigret.  “By looking ahead to 2030, it makes sense to direct a small portion of the federal ARPA funds to communities to both enhance the work of our local senior centers and local Villages and volunteer programs as well as to initiate other age-friendly effort,” she says. 

Maigret calls on Rhode Island’s 39 Cities and Towns to use some of the significant ARPA funds to complement any state funds coming their way for such activities. But for now, stabilizing the long-term care workforce is critical.

A Final Thought…

“The COVID pandemic demonstrated the vulnerability and inequities within both our communities of color and older adults.  In formulating policy and budget investments for the future, Rhode Island has a unique opportunity to promote a statewide “Age Friendly” environment and incorporate the principles of a “beloved community” – a prescription for a healthy society,” says Jim Vincent, President of NAACP’s Providence Branch.

Vincent calls on the Governor and Lt. Governor to give serious attention to not only rebooting our economy, but to strengthening our social fabric and public education to foster a more equitable and civil society. 

Make your voices heard. Now is the time for creative ideas and reactions to the McKee-Matos’ Rhode Island 2030 draft report, which is why they are holding public input sessions. Please take the time to be an advocate for seniors in Rhode Island – and for other causes and issues that are important to you.

Public input sessions will be held at 5 p.m. on the following dates:

Tuesday, Nov. 2 at the Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick

Thursday, Nov. 4 at Innovate Newport (513 Broadway, Newport)

Tuesday, Nov. 9 at United Theatre (5 Canal Street, Westerly)

You can also submit your feedback, online, at www.RI2030.com

For a copy of the McKee-Matos working paper, go to https://ri2030.com/_files/public/RI%202030_final.pdf.

For details about AARP Livable Communities Network (age-friendly communities, to to https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/network-age-friendly-communities/.

McKee-Matos final “Rhode Island 2030 Plan” must not forget seniors

Published on October 25, 2021 in RINewsToday

Over a month ago, Gov. Dan McKee penned a Providence Journal op-ed calling for the General Assembly to release the $1.1 billion (at least 10%) in federal COVID-19 aid to address the state’s immediate needs, including shoring up minority and women owned small businesses and specific sectors – tourism, travel and events, and child care. The federal funds should also target worker training programs and increase the state’s affordable housing units.

On Oct. 15, Gov. McKee and Lt. Gov. Matos rolled out “Rhode Island 2030”, a working paper containing preliminary recommendations to begin public debate on how the American Rescue Plan Act’s State Fiscal Recovery Fund should be spent. Beginning Oct. 26, public hearings will be held on the McKee-Matos working paper, “Rhode Island 2030: Charting a Course for the Future of the Ocean State”.

The 55-page working draft provides summaries of what the administration heard during the Facebook live Rhode Island 2030 Community Conversations. The document also highlights current state agency initiatives in the relevant topic areas, suggests broad goals for 2030, and recommends short-term and long-term actions the state should take to reach those goals.

With the working paper’s release last week, debate has intensified as to how the McKee-Matos Administration should spend the state’s $1.1 billion allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act’s State Fiscal Recovery Fund. On Oct. 19, the Rhode Island Foundation added its own wish list in a report, “Make It Happen: Investing for Rhode Island’s Future”, which studied and analyzed options for spending the federal COVID-19 recovery funding over the next three years.

The public input included approximately 400 ideas submitted by the public via email, stakeholder conversations with more than 140 people, five focus groups with Rhode Islanders from communities hardest hit by COVID, and 11 nonprofit-led, community visioning sessions throughout the state. The 56-page report’s recommendations, shared with Mckee-Matos and the Rhode Island General Assembly, recommends investing in six key areas: housing, behavioral health, workforce development, small business, neighborhood trusts, and immediate relief.

Senior Advocates Weigh In 

In an Oct. 18 email, Maureen Maigret, policy consultant and chair of the Aging in Community Subcommittee of the Rhode Island’s Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, emailed her thoughts about the working paper to the aging network.

Here are a few of Maigret’s observations:

The working paper does not consider seniors to be an integral part of families, says Maigret, noting that “older couples are a family, some families are multi-generational with older adults being provided care by family members or helping with childcare and sharing household and family responsibilities. “While the plan recognized the pandemic caused many parents to leave the labor force, it does not mention that it also caused some employed family caregivers to leave their jobs as the caregiver workforce shortage intensified with COVID-19, leaving many caregivers without service,” she said.

Maigret called on state funded provider reimbursement to be at a level to provide competitive and living wages to all Direct Care staff and to support reasonable administrative costs.

While the working paper makes only an indirect mention of seniors about workforce development and postsecondary education, child care workers, nursing home staff and tipped workers are severely underpaid, notes Maigret. “There must be a target focus for these workforce fields, especially in lieu of the recent trends of workers leaving their jobs,” she says.

“There is no mention of any particular effort to strengthen programs that were in the labor force before the pandemic,” says Maigret.

As to workforce shortages, Maigret notes that the draft “fails to address the need for nursing home transformation and Covid’s significant impact on deaths and hospitalizations of nursing home residents, as mostly their physical structures are outdated with residents sharing rooms and bathrooms which makes infection control difficult, and contributes to high infection rates.”

Maigret noted that the working draft highlighted the need to expand broadband for Ocean State residents and businesses. “It did not include any specific facts on broadband accessibility for older adults or mention transit needs of older adults,” she said.

Giving Seniors a Brighter Tomorrow

AARP Rhode Island joins Maigret, calling on McKee-Matos to not forget Rhode Island’s seniors.

“The governor’s “Rhode Island 2030” framework includes the top two priorities that AARP Rhode Island has identified as critical,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Catherine Taylor in an Oct. 19 statement. “Investing in the future of health care and housing in Rhode Island is vital to ensuring that citizens – of all ages – have a brighter tomorrow. We look forward to working with state leaders to advance these two priorities as decisions are made on spending ARPA funds.”

AARP Rhode Island especially agrees with the governor’s plan that municipal barriers for Accessory Dwelling Units need to be removed in order to create more affordable and accessible housing in our town and cities.

Like Maigret, AARP Rhode Island expressed concern about a lack of inclusion for older Rhode Islanders in many sections of the McKee-Matos working plan.

Considering that the vast majority of Rhode Islanders want to live independently in their homes and communities, the plan needs to include protecting the HCBS workforce employed by many small businesses, safeguarding the financial stability of HCBS providers, and accelerating meaningful reform of long-term services and supports.

To support healthy and accessible housing, AARP Rhode Island calls for increased funding for property owners to make improvements to existing housing, including weatherization, lead abatement, and disability access. In their July letter to the governor and state leaders, AARP Rhode Island recommended expanding the funding of the Livable Home Modification Program in order to increase the state’s accessible housing stock. Demand for this program continues to rise, often resulting in a waitlist by mid-fiscal year.

AARP Rhode Island advocates strongly for investing in transportation to help create livable communities where residents of any age are able to connect with the services and amenities they want and need. Creating communities that are accommodating to people of all ages and all modes of transportation is vital to allowing people to age in their own homes, within their own communities.

“AARP Rhode Island is committed to working with state leaders to make certain that ARPA funds are invested in a way that ensures that Rhode Islanders of all ages and abilities can recover and thrive,” said Taylor.”

A Call for Your Comments

“There are obviously significant objectives & responsibilities that must be developed and pursued to strengthen Rhode Island’s recovery from the pandemic – including the well-being of our aging community and how we can become an “Age-Friendly State” (currently, 8 states in the AARP network). 

This community conversation must become a statewide collaboration – engaging families, older adults, grandparents, etc. Such a strategic effort would greatly enhance the recently released working document: “Rhode Island 2030: Charting a Course for RI’s Future,” says Vincent Marzullo, former federal civil rights and social justice Director in Rhode Island for the Corporation for National & Community Services.

Public input sessions on  the McKee-Matos working paper begins Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. at Harry Kizirian Elementary School (60 Camden Avenue, Providence). Additional public input sessions will be held at 5 p.m. on the following dates:

  • Thursday, Oct. 28, Hope & Main (691 Main Street, Warren)
  • Tuesday, Nov. 2 at the Community College of Rhode Island (400 East Avenue, Warwick)
  • Thursday, Nov. 4 at Innovate Newport (513 Broadway, Newport)
  • Tuesday, Nov. 9 at United Theatre (5 Canal Street, Westerly)

You can also submit your feedback, online, at www.RI2030.com

For a copy of the McKee-Matos working paper, go to https://ri2030.com/_files/public/RI%202030_final.pdf.

For a copy of Rhode Island’s American Rescue Plan Report, go to https://assets.rifoundation.org/documents/RIF_MakeItHappen_DIGITAL_vF.pdf

Now is the time for creative ideas and reactions to these plans – please take the time to be an advocate for seniors in Rhode Island – and for other causes and issues that are important to you.