Newsletter January 2021

In this Issue

- A Message from the President

- Featured Member: Linnaea Phillips

- Vaccine Scam Warnings

- Relationships Are a Magic Potion

- SLO Village in the News!

- Board Member Spotlight

- Jan. 28: Caring For A Loved One

- Volunteers Needed!

- Fall Prevention Workshops Jan. 25 & Jan. 27

Message from Linda Beck
President, SLO Village Board of Directors

Welcome to 2021! SLO Village starts the New Year with strength from all we learned in 2020 and enthusiasm for the year ahead.

Despite the Pandemic and other challenges, 2020 was a good year for SLO Village. We added new members, new volunteers and a robust roster of online events that bring Village participants together regularly for coffee, movie discussions and informative presentations. We also established a successful collaboration with CalPoly; a class of advanced business students interviewed SLO Village members and then delivered important information and ideas for SLO Village's next steps.... Read More

The Joyfully Curious Linnaea Phillips

By Randy Murray

She signed on as a member of SLO Village in 2020 just as the pandemic forced participants to scatter and shelter at home.

So, when attendees of the Wednesday morning coffee group relocated to Zoom from their regular table in the backroom of Coastal Peaks in San Luis Obispo, Linnaea Phillips was right there, relishing the many ways she could engage the gathered members and volunteers in much the same way she had done for years in the cafe that she founded on Garden Street in San Luis Obispo that still bears her name today.

She confesses to loving to learn new ideas, and she exhibits a joyful curiosity in asking questions, in sharing information from her bountiful life experience and in suggesting topics for discussion.

In short, Linnaea presides. ...Read More

Covid Vaccine Scams

Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)

California's Medicare fraud watchdog, sent this important message:

With the vaccine rolling into California this week, fraudsters are always looking for ways to prey on Medicare beneficiaries. Our SMP program created a new infographic and flyer alert about COVID vaccine scams. The flyer contains our hotline number as well. It's available in English with Spanish on the backside. ... More

Relationships are a Magic Potion
By Dr. Amy (Amarilis) Iscold, MS, MD
Lecturer, Dept. of Psychology & Child Development
Lecturer, Dept of Public Health and Kinesiology
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

If there were a magic potion guaranteed to give us long, happy, and healthy lives, it's likely that those who learned to concoct it would be celebrated. Here I am picturing a little cottage at the edge of the woods with herbs and flowers growing in a half-wild, half tended garden. Maybe a fence and a gate that never quite closed because the healer who lived there was the welcoming sort.

Alas, there's no village healer dispensing magic, so we seek other ways of seeking happy and healthy lives. Advice is plentiful and some of the trends shift and change with the times. We're bombarded with notions of what and how much we should eat and drink (or not, as the case may be), how much physical activity is needed to maintain healthy hearts and muscles, how to purify the air, strengthen bones, and stimulate our memories.

While much of that advice is worthwhile and has its place, when I was asked to write a little something about health promotion and prevention, I defaulted to the closest thing to a "magic potion" we have in our reality: connection
.... Read More

SLO Village in the News

Californians must wear a mask every time they're with people outside their household. Residents must take activities outside and maintain distance even with loved ones who do not live with them. Californians must realize that the safest place to be is still at home. And the elderly and those with medical conditions should still stay away from others as much as possible.".... More

The pandemic cut many seniors off from meals, activities, and friends. Most senior centers were forced to close. "COVID has created new challenges for our seniors," says Linda Beck, President of SLO Village. "We are here to help make life better for them, but that's difficult if no one knows about us." Seniors on the Central Coast can find more information on resources here or watch KSBY's video ....More

KCBX (Central Coast Public Radio) Issues & Ideas features SLO Village. Listen to Consuelo Meux interview Executive Director Kerry Sheets in regards to how our non-profit helps to keep seniors living independently in their own homes. ...More (starts at 21:50).

Board Member Spotlight
Ann Robinson, Treasurer

Hi, I am Ann!

I have been associated with SLO Village since early 2016 and have been on the board since it was officially started.

I am now a widow, but I was married for over 47 years to my husband, Lou.

Now I have my buddy, Charlie, who is a 3-year-old mini Labradoodle. He is a good companion who makes me laugh and keeps me active.

I love to travel and traveled extensively until March of last year. I hope to travel again as soon as it is reasonable to do so.

Besides the SLO Village board, I am on the board of the Land Conservancy in SLO and the capital campaign committee for SLO REP, the local theater. Besides those commitments, I keep busy gardening, reading, going to my family cabin in the Sierra (where we can be totally isolated) and walking Charlie.... Read More

Caring For A Loved One
Village Movement California

At some time in our lives, we can expect to be a caregiver. Dr. Donna Benton. Director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center and professor at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, talks about a continuum of caregiving that includes children, partners, '. Many of us don't identify as caregivers, but in fact, we are. And most of us don't know how to get the support we need.

Dr. Benton will kick off a four-part webinar series on family caregiving, sponsored by Village Movement CA, and designed to equip your Village with information and tools to meet this growing need. The webinar series is part of a larger initiative, funded by the Rupe Foundation.

Join Dr. Benton and your Village colleagues from across the state to learn from a leading voice in the field and discover new resources for supporting caregivers in your Village. In addition to her role at USC, Dr. Benton is also a member of the Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Committee....RSVP

Volunteers Needed!

SLO Village needs volunteers to provide services for our members. Our most pressing need right now is for drivers to take members to and from health care appointments throughout SLO County. SLO Village follows COVID safety procedures and will provide the supplies necessary to protect drivers and members.

If you are a California licensed driver and can help SLO Village members get the health care they need, please go to our website to fill out our volunteer application or call our office at 805.242.6440.

SLO Village is also looking for volunteers to provide additional services including:

Help with outdoor gardening
Home maintenance projects
Tech support

SLO Village is a non-profit organization that helps people throughout SLO County live in their own homes and age with dignity, independence and purpose.

Fall Prevention Program
Upcoming Workshops

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Vision Related Fall Prevention Strategies
January 25, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Guest speaker: Michele Duero from Homefree Solutions
Monday via Zoom - please use the link below:
https://slohealth.zoom.us/j/6221911881

Michele will help you identify vision-related home modifications that you can implement in your own home to reduce fall risk. The strategies she will talk about are targeted at reducing trip, slip and spill hazards and include: