Forsyth County to offer resource fair for seniors, caregivers

Forsyth County Senior Services will host a resource fair early next month in hopes of reaching both seniors and their caregivers.

The Caregiver And Resource Event Fair, or CARE Fair, on September 10 and 11, will feature a variety of resources for both seniors and caregivers.

"During these pandemic times there's really nothing more important than caring for yourself and others," said Senior Services Director Ruthie Brew. "The event will include health screenings. There will be vendors from nonprofit and government agencies as well as businesses that serve older adults. And we will also have an assistive aide showroom and we're giving away a lot of items from that showroom."

Assistive aids, also called tech aids or innovative aids, are items that make life easier, as simple as a grabber and as complex as a fitness tracker, according to Brew.

"There are all kinds of categories of assistive aid items, things that help you with meals and dining, things that help with personal care home modification, educational items recreational items, medication management," said Brew. The giveaways are open to Forsyth County residents age 60 or over and caregivers.

Senior Services has had to make adjustments over the past year because of the pandemic, according to Brew. She said their senior services centers have since reopened, but when they were closed, they beefed up virtual programming and found creative ways to reach people.

"We did what we call drive-by visits or driveway visits, and we would pull up in our van in their driveway, and they'd come out and we'd visit with them in the yard with social distancing and masks on," said Brew. "We were really trying to combat the isolation that the pandemic brought to so many. And although older adults, many of them have always suffered from isolation, the pandemic, made it worse, and really shone a light on it. And so we contacted people with these driveway visits, we call them on the phone, and we connected with them virtually, and, and, and we had great success with it."

Brew said reaching people is their main goal with the upcoming resource fair, connecting people and caregivers with all of the things they have to offer. She said they have about 1,000 people already involved in their programming, but she knows they can reach more Forsyth County residents.

"There's, I don't know, something like 12,000, older adults in Forsyth County. And we know we're not reaching all of them," said Brew. "We have lots of wonderful programs and services and, and things to give away that we would like them to avail themselves of."