Oakland County details outreach, hotline and events for older residents

Jim Ellison, chief of Older Adult Services for Oakland County, told commissioners that his division’s work is “to disseminate information from the county and let the seniors know what we have available,” and described an outreach program that uses a hotline, printed resource guides and in-person events to reach residents age 60 and older.

Ellison and Denisha Weathersby, communications and marketing assistant for Older Adult Services, said the county established an older-adult hotline last year and logged a baseline of more than 750 inquiries in 2024. From Jan. 1 through April 23 this year they recorded 237 inquiries. Weathersby said callers typically seek health and housing referrals; Ellison said many callers also phone for companionship.

The county co-sponsors six Senior Expo USA events in Oakland County each year, and Ellison highlighted regular “coffee and conversations,” senior center visits and an Encore newsletter mailed to registered voters age 60 and older. The department maintains a printed resource guide updated this February and distributes it at senior centers, libraries and county events. Ellison said the guide and newsletter help route seniors to programs for health, housing repairs, transportation and other services.

Commissioners and presenters described several partnerships and funding sources. Ellison noted $5,000,000 in Arbor grants used for senior-center facility updates, citing recent ribbon cuttings in Troy and Auburn Hills. Denisha Weathersby described outreach at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, the San Marino Club in Troy and an upcoming Senior Expo at the Detroit Zoo; she also said staff hand out health-related items at those events and refer attendees to programs such as “Age Ways” and Oakland County’s nurse-on-call service.

Panelists said the county is testing new ideas to address social isolation, a commonly raised issue. Ellison described plans for a “theater program” using scripts and staged reading to get older residents engaged, and the communications team proposed panel discussions and workshops that would pair seniors with community experts to explore solutions such as transportation options, volunteer chore programs and intergenerational activities.

Commissioners raised service gaps during the discussion. Commissioner Christensen said past county work on senior issues produced a blueprint and urged continued focus on loneliness and access. Commissioners and presenters discussed housing repair needs for homeowners on fixed incomes, the limits of current referral programs and the risk that existing chore and repair programs may run out of funding. On congregate meal quality, Ellison said Meals on Wheels providers are underfunded and constrained by federal food-preparation rules, and he said staff are exploring advocacy and funding solutions.

Ellison and Weathersby asked commissioners to refer older residents for spotlight stories in Encore, to consider hosting district Q&A events on senior topics, and to pass candidate names to the Senior Advisory Council for vacancies. They closed by offering printed resource guides to commissioners and encouraging tagging the department website when promoting services.