About Us
We Understand
Masssenior.org is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people over 60 years old living in Massachusetts. We are seniors helping seniors.
Many seniors find themselves isolated, having financial difficulty, experiencing failing health, and faced with an ever-increasing complex life.
Should you stay in your home or look for supported senior living?
If you want to remain in your home, how can you make mortgage payments, accomplish home maintenance, or find in-home health care? Mundane tasks become major obstacles to your staying in your home. Will you be able to pay real estate taxes, and utility bills, and accomplish simple home tasks like putting out the garbage, shoveling snow, cleaning the house, or changing a light bulb? If you decide to relocate to supported senior living, do you look for a not-for-profit or for-profit facility? How much money do they want upfront? $500,000 would not be an unusual entry fee. What is the monthly cost? Is this a lifelong care facility or will you end up in a nursing home? Does your family get the upfront money when you pass?
If you decide to stay in your home, do you have enough retirement savings or income to meet all your financial obligations?
Can you afford ever-increasing real estate taxes, water and sewer bills, and utility bills as high as mortgage payments? Soaring inflation pushes up the price of gas prices and food bills. What do you do if you need a new roof, or a chair lift? Many of you have huge medical and dental bills.
Some of us have outlived our retirement savings and remaining in our home may not be possible. So the home that you lived in, loved in, raised children in, celebrated holidays and birthdays. and anniversaries must be sold. Real estate sales professionals will tell you to get the best price for your home you need to declutter, make home repairs, accomplish landscaping, the landscaping that you could never afford, survive open houses, prospects roaming through your house, and real estate salespeople who charge high sales commissions, and survive complicated real estate legal transactions
if you decide to stay in your home, should you do a reverse mortgage or make an equity loan. If you decide to stay in your home how can you find affordable reliable home maintenance services? It seems like every few years the guy who plowed your driveway or shoveled snow from your walkways goes out of business with no advance notice. The guy who cut your grass mowed over your favorite rose bush. Every time you call an electrician or plumber it costs three times the amount you remember you paid for this service in the past and they never clean up after they do their work. Heaven help you if you need a roof. What if your heating system fails, and you find your electric bill has grown to almost equal to a mortgage payment? It makes you frustrated and deeply depressed when you accept the fact that you cannot snow blow the driveway, cut your grass, or even change a damn ceiling light bulb.
Are you and your spouse or partner isolated from friends and family?
Maybe you're fortunate to have a supportive family, a family that when all else fails you can depend on for financial and emotional support. But all too often our children are too busy focused on their needs or their children's needs, and you are forgotten. Every week you hear about a friend or colleague who has died. The only phone calls you receive are from CVS telling you your prescriptions are ready. Do not even bother to call CVS back- no one will answer the phone. You worry about what happens to your disabled spouse or partner after you have passed away. Is a Medicaid-supported nursing home their ultimate destination?
And of course, your health is an issue.
It may seem like every organ or part of your body is not functioning well or just hurts every day. It's difficult for you to cut your toenails and your podiatrist charges $85 to cut them. Forget about trying to cure your toenail fungus that is destroying your toenails. You wake up every morning not feeling refreshed with pain in your back, knees, and neck. You have a physical therapy record that is 40 years old. You've had a cystoscopy, colonoscopy, and endoscopy. You are a veteran of lying in a long MRI tube, praying you don’t move, and being entertained by clanking magnets. You reluctantly connect yourself to a C-Pap machine every night. You're taking at least six prescription drugs. Some of you have to make the decision to eat or pay for your prescriptions. Your dental insurance is worthless. God, forbid you need a dental implant and then you find out it costs $10,000 a tooth and it takes nine months to complete. You wonder what life would be like without Prozac levothyroxine, Eliquis or Myrbetriq.
You have so many different doctors you cannot remember all their names. You may have cancer, diabetes, or spinal stenosis, and I am sure you have to pee every two hours. The only exercise you get is to walk to the car and drive off to a doctor’s appointment. Your belly is growing. Your hair is almost gone. Sex is something that you only fantasize about. You used to jog and now it's a chore to walk two blocks and standing straight is a challenge.
You are the favorite target of scammers and thieves.
Every day, starting at 9:00 AM, scammers call your house, “This is Laura Johnson from the Institute for Senior Health, to ensure your safety this call is being recorded. Mrs. (your name) we need to verify some information so that you get the senior benefits, including social security payments that you deserve. Please confirm your home address, social security number and date of birth.” You hang up. The next morning, they call back. There is no way you can stop the calls. Some of you have lost thousands of dollars to these thieves and scammers.
You hate your computer and find its use annoying.
You have so many passwords you need a password manager. You are locked out of your bank internet account at least every three months. What the hell is the difference between the internet and the cloud? The AARP magazine tells you you need antivirus software, high-speed internet, and a VPN whatever that is. You have 5000 emails in your AOL account, and you cannot delete them. If it was not for the fact that you need email, remote banking, access to Facebook, and resources for a virtual doctor's visit, you would through away your computer.
Now that we have completely depressed you let us state there is hope, love, contentment, a sense of accomplishment, joy, beauty, faith, excitement, security, fellowship, and better health ahead for you. We cannot solve all your problems, but we can help make your life better because we have been there, and we understand.