“Help Desk”

Our Information and Referral Program provides individualized peer counseling that helps older adults and their families identify and access programs and services that meet their specific needs. This includes:

• AARP driver training courses
• Home health services
• Transportation
• Legal services
• Assistance with various types of forms
• Class Registration
• Answers to questions about health care

Directory of Services for Older Adults in Marin County

Since 1979, Whistlestop has produced the Directory of Services for Older Adults in Marin County, the leading resource directory for local community agencies, healthcare providers, caregivers and individuals. Click here for the 2013 Directory of Services for Older Adults.

For more information, call the Help Desk at 415-459-6700, or contact us.

Marin Community Foundation – Successful Aging

The growth rate of the older population in Marin is the fastest in the state. By 2010, one in four adults in the County will be over 65. The largest subset of this population growth is in the over-85 age group. The service system and other relevant resources will be pushed to new limits. As older adults age, they face increasing difficulty in remaining in their own homes or other living situations without increases in home health and other supportive services.

Older adults face a unique set of challenges, including isolation (which often leads to depression, self-medication, and other secondary problems), increased falls, malnutrition, lack of information on resources, and lack of appropriate supportive services. These challenges make this population more vulnerable to hospitalizations and unwanted institutionalization. In addition, one-third of Marin’s older adults — or 21,000 residents — are dependent upon fixed income of Social Security alone. This low-income group is the target population for the Foundation’s support of client services.

Older adults are important assets to our communities, and keeping them healthy and engaged in community life is beneficial for the County’s entire population. Community engagement in older life is correlated to improved health and quality of life and improvement of overall health indicators (e.g., reduction in depression, alcohol consumption, and isolation). Older adults with access to a highly coordinated network of health and social services along with opportunities for both community engagement and employment are more likely to age in place with maximum health and dignity. A healthy, fully-engaged older citizenry ultimately strengthens the entire community.

To download the executive summary of a report on the needs of older adults in Marin, click here.

To download the Aging Brief, click here.