Daily Weather Report Powered By:
The 2022 Yellow Book guide of senior services from the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging has been released, after a COVID hiatus.
The 2022 Yellow Book guide of senior services from the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging has been released, after a COVID hiatus.
After a COVID hiatus last year, the free Yellow Book senior directory has returned to an even greater reception than before, according to the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, which produces the annual guide.
Already a second printing of the 176-page Annual Senior Information and Assistance Directory, or Yellow Book, has been ordered, said Jessica McMullen, spokeswoman for the government-funded agency that operates a senior information and assistance center, caregiver support, and mobility coordination and management.
It’s a program of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, a consortium of 16 local governments that also works on transportation, land use, and air and water quality issues.
“We’ve had more interest from our locations in having them,” McMullen said. “We expanded which locations we provide copies to and are giving them more copies.”
The original printing of 10,000 copies is now becoming 15,000, she said.
The complimentary directory contains information on more than 800 services for older adults in El Paso, Teller and Park counties.
Where to go to find help with elder abuse, adult day services, caregiver programs, different types of housing, recreation programs, transportation options, well-being care, free food and meals, specific medical needs, legal concerns, military assistance, minority resources, support groups and other information is inside.
And for the first time, McMullen said, hard copies are available in Spanish at all Pikes Peak Library District branches. Local libraries also have printed English versions.
The Colorado Springs Senior Center and Silver Key Senior Services are distributing copies as well.
The best places to pick up the guide in Teller County are the Teller Senior Coalition in Divide and the Aspen Mine Center in Cripple Creek. In Park County, they can be found at the Park County Senior Coalition in Fairplay.
The guide is also online. The English version is at www.ppacg.org/yellowbook, and the Spanish language version can be found at www.ppacg.org/LibroAmarillo.
El Paso County’s 65-and-older population has increased significantly according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Between 2000 and 2020, seniors residents jumped from 44,787 to 96,412 in those 20 years.
That’s a 115% increase. And the numbers are predicted to rise in coming decades.
The state demography office projects 172,394 people ages 65 and older will be living in the county in 2040, due to the nation’s declining birth rate, aging baby boomers and more seniors moving here to retire or be closer to family. If forecasts hold true, that would represent a 79% increase over today.
McMullen said the Pikes Peak Agency on Aging receives positive feedback on the scope of the material in the Yellow Book — which has been published annually since 1967 — and that people didn’t realize there were this many services in the area.
“They say the information is just invaluable,” she said.
Because the agency is funded by state and federal money, the Yellow Book has no paid advertising, McMullen said.
The agency also publishes a guide on veterans’ benefits and adult Medicaid, which includes advice and data on free counseling services.
For more information or to find out about other resources, call the Senior Information and Assistance Center at 719-471-2096.
Contact the writer: debbie.kelley@gazette.com
Staff reporter, education and general news and features
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.