Awards Honor Outstanding Volunteers, Community Partners and Lawmakers

AARP’s New Online Network ‘Create The Good’ Provides Opportunities to Make a Difference

Recent news reports in Connecticut indicate a rise in the number of "diversion" type burglaries being attempted around the state.  Reports of this type of activity have been reported recently in Waterford, Orange and Milford.  Read more below to find out how to protect yourself from this growing type of scam.

Elderly homeowners in Milford and Orange were lured from their homes by a woman posing as a utility company worker. Police in Milford are investigating what they called a “diversion” type burglary around noon Friday. The homeowner was tricked into going outside by a woman who falsely claimed there was to be an underground power line project in the area. She lured the man into the back yard, saying that was where the work was to take place. While the two were in the yard, another person apparently went into the house and took cash. A similar incident took place in Orange at about 4 p.m. that same day. Police indicated that cash also was taken from the home in Orange, apparently while the homeowner was outside. Police contacted United Illuminating Co. and confirmed that no underground power line work was scheduled to take place in either of the neighborhoods.

• If a person you don’t know comes to your home, for any reason, no matter how innocent they appear or how reasonable the request may be, keep the person outside and the door between you and them secured. If he or she needs a drink, direct them elsewhere. If he or she needs to call someone, make the call for them;
• When working outside, lock the doors not visible to you; and.
• If you are approached by an individual claiming to work for a utility company or wishing to do repair work at your residence, ask to see proper identification and call the employer to verify their identity. Do not let he or she into the house!

Help "Create The Good" in Connecticut by supporting local food pantries

As part of AARP's new Create The Good initiative (www.CreateTheGood.org), AARP Connecticut is encouraging members and the public to help make a difference in their communities by taking part in Governor Jodi M. Rell's Connecticut Day of Caring and Compassion on November 7, 2009.  Help stock the shelves of local food pantries, Foodshare and Connecticut Food Bank to assist families in need by donating non-perishable food items on November 7 from 10AM to 2PM at participating fire stations throughout the state.  For more details and a list of participating fire stations, click here.   

• Assist individuals struggling with the high cost of prescription drugs and basic necessities;
• Provide job training and assistance to older Americans who need to work to make ends meet;
• Help lower-income taxpayers qualify for the right deductions and credits;
• Protect older Americans from consumer fraud and identity theft;
• Protect against age discrimination;
• Help seniors manage their finances so they can remain in their homes and retain their independence;
• Support grandparents raising grandchildren;
• Provide education and training to older women reentering the workforce to support their families; or
• Help improve the lives of all seniors.

Legislation passed today is yet another milestone in the long journey to health care reform

WASHINGTON—AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond released this statement following the Senate Finance Committee’s passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act:

“We applaud the Senate Finance Committee for taking another important step toward fixing what’s wrong with our health care system.  Under the leadership of Chairman Baucus, the legislation reported today moves us even closer to providing much-needed relief to millions of older Americans who still face challenges accessing affordable, quality health care services. 

“The Senate Finance Committee bill makes important improvements to the Medicare program by increasing preventive benefits, making sure Medicare’s doctors do not face a pay cut this year, and most notably for AARP members—by reducing drug costs for seniors who fall into the dreaded Medicare doughnut hole, a costly gap in prescription drug coverage.   Too often, those who fall into this coverage gap stop taking their prescription drugs because they simply can’t afford to.  While we applaud this assistance with drug costs in the doughnut hole, we urge the Senate to go further to meet the President’s pledge to completely close the doughnut hole.  With the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, we believe this bill should be improved so that it can help millions of older Americans afford their needed medications and avoid more intensive and costly care later in life.

“The bill also makes some improvements on age-rating, a discriminatory practice that allows insurers to charge exorbitant, age-based premiums to older Americans.  Unfortunately, the bill will still allow insurance companies to charge older Americans premiums that are four times more than premiums for younger Americans, making it difficult for older Americans to afford health coverage.   We hope the final Senate bill will be improved in this area. 

“Finally, we strongly support provisions in the Senate Finance bill to expand home and community-based services (HCBS).  The vast majority of Americans age 50 and over want to live in their homes and communities as long as they can.  HCBS provisions are not only cost-effective, but can also help slow the growth in health care spending and keep millions of Americans out of nursing homes and in their own homes.

“The legislation passed today is yet another milestone in the long journey to health care reform.  We look forward to continuing our work with Chairman Baucus and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to further strengthen the bill, and we will continue to fight for reform that protects benefits for people in Medicare, improves health care affordability, and improves the health of every American.”

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole.  AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates.  We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 35.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org.  AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors.  We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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• Adjust Web site privacy settings. Some networking sites have provided useful options to assist in adjusting these settings to help protect your identity.
• Be selective of your friends. Once selected, your "friends" can access any information marked as "viewable by all friends."
• You can select those who have "limited" access to your profile. This is for those whom you do not wish to give full friend status to or with whom you feel uncomfortable sharing personal information.
• Disable options and then open them one by one such as texting and photo sharing capabilities. Users should consider how they want to use the social networking site. If it is only to keep in touch with people then perhaps it would be better to turn off the extra options which will not be used.
• Be careful what you click on. Just because someone posts a link or video to their "wall" does not mean it is safe.