Area Agency on Aging marks 50 years in Lima

LIMA — Jacqi Lucke wants family caregivers to know they’re not alone.

The chief executive officer for the Area Agency on Aging 3 regularly finds herself talking to caregivers who are struggling to care for an aging spouse or parent but who haven’t contacted her agency for help.

The nonprofit agency is known for its meal delivery, transportation assistance and in-home care for seniors and disabled adults who aren’t ready to enter long-term care.

Less well known are the agency’s family caregiver classes and respite services, which provide a temporary break for children and parents who care for a loved one at home.

“We often say about ourselves: We’re the best kept secret in the community to provide support to caregivers,” Lucke said.

The Area Agency on Aging, which commemorated its 50th anniversary on Wednesday, started in 1974 to provide services for older adults so they could live independent lives for as long as possible.

Today, the agency supports seniors, disabled adults and caregivers alike, relying on a staff of 160 people in 19 counties who provide an array of services focused on health, wellness, socialization and independence.

The agency’s intake line receives an average of 30,000 calls per year, Lucke said.

Staff answer questions about Medicare benefits, teach seniors how to prevent injuries and connect callers to essential services available in their communities.

Lucke believes the agency’s caregiver support services will become more vital as the population of Western Ohio ages.

She recently found herself writing her phone number on the back of a pamphlet at JCPenney’s when she met a man helping his wife in the dressing room.

The man broke down in tears when Lucke told him about the Area Agency on Aging’s respite services for dementia, she said.

“We really want to support the informal caregivers who are out there providing services already in their own homes to their family members,” Lucke said. “A lot of times you’ll hear somebody talking about how they’re caring for a loved one — a parent or a spouse. They’re floundering, and they’ve never reached out to us.”