Members of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares (POB Cares) Advisory Board recently met with Nassau County Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) in her office in Mineola. Advisory Board members requested assistance from Jacobs on a number of issues including the possibility of instituting van transportation throughout their community and a publicly supported home repair service that seniors can utilize.

Members of the POB Cares Advisory Board, Plainview and Old Bethpage residents, some for over 40 years, are committed to making Plainview-Old Bethpage more "senior-friendly." Their visit with Jacobs was just one of several meetings they have had with elected and public officials on all levels of government.

While a wide variety and abundance of recreational and educational activities are available from many sources in Plainview-Old Bethpage, there is a lack of supportive services and programs that would help seniors "age-in-place" enabling them to remain in their homes for as long as they choose.

It is important for a community to help its seniors "age-in-place" and not allow them to feel forced to leave their homes prematurely due to the lack of basic services. Many POB seniors have lived in their homes for over 40 years. While there is a trend for seniors to move to any one of a variety of "senior-housing," it is not for everyone. Many seniors prefer to remain in familiar surroundings, close to family and friends of many years, continuing to attend their house of worship, in the community they helped build.

The specific needs of POB seniors needed to be identified in order for Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares to work with the community-at-large to help its seniors remain in their homes. This was done last spring when POB Cares, with the assistance of a team of volunteers from the Friends of the POB Library, conducted a community-wide survey.

A few of the key issues identified by the 6 percent of seniors living in POB include the need for affordable, reliable, and easily accessed public transportation; more handicapped parking spaces in local parking lots; and help maintaining one's home with small home repairs not requiring a contractor, snow removal and escalating financial costs.

It is these and other issues facing POB seniors that the Advisory Board is addressing and presented to their elected officials, seeking their assistance.

In order to begin meeting these needs immediately, POB Cares established a volunteer program. Most of the trained volunteers are POB seniors themselves.

The transportation problem is starting to be tackled by eight volunteers bringing other seniors to medical appointments, to do shopping and to visit a spouse in a nearby nursing home. They have already provided over 130 round-trips.

POB Cares volunteers help seniors with small home repairs such as changing light bulbs, putting up shelves, installing an outside light sensor and fixing a sticking door.

Other POB Cares volunteers visit homebound seniors living in Plainview-Old Bethpage on a regular basis to help keep them from feeling isolated and lonely.

One POB Cares volunteer participates in a Nassau County Police Department program to help monitor illegal parking in designated handicapped spaces so violations can be issued.

Another vital component of POB Cares is its Coordinating Council. This council is made up of 17 members which include NYS Assemblyman Sidikman; Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs; Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, Commissioner Bruce Foley, council members Eisler and Macagnone, the Housing Authority; the Mid-Island Y JCC; the POB Library; North Shore University Hospital-Plainview; the POB School Board, PTA and Senior Club; and Carol Meschow of Concerned Citizens of the POB Community Civic Association.

The Advisory Board and the staff invite anyone interested in being a volunteer and/or joining the Advisory Board and the Coordinating Council to please call the office at 249-6000 for information. POB residents who would like a volunteer to help them are also encouraged to call.

In addition, a social worker is available to answer questions about issues relating to aging such as receiving benefits, eligibility to entitlements, arranging for home care, filling out forms and helping adult children with issues they face when relocating their aging parents. Many questions can be answered on the telephone; clients can be seen in their homes if preferred.

Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares is located at 1670 Old Country Road, suite 111 (east of the Plainview Post Office.) The office, which is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., is on the ground level and handicapped parking is available on this level.

POB Cares, a program of JASA (Jewish Association for Services for the Aged) funded by UJA Federation-New York, serves all seniors living in Plainview-Old Bethpage.