MONTPELIER — Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan has announced that his office will be undertaking a statewide listening tour to engage older Vermonters about their most pressing concerns. That tour will bring Donovan or his representatives to Addison County on Monday, April 16; the time and place were not available by press time.
Currently, over one-third of Vermonters are 55 and older. Many older Vermonters are thriving. Others suffer from financial insecurity, isolation, lack of access to needed care and services, and memory loss, among other challenges. Some suffer from neglect, exploitation, and abuse.
To better understand and respond to the most urgent concerns of older Vermonters, Donovan has asked representatives from his Human Service, Public Protection and Criminal divisions to visit each of Vermont’s 14 counties this April and May to explore the same two questions:
1.      What are older Vermonters’ greatest vulnerabilities and needs?
2.      How can Vermont’s systems for elder support and protection be improved?
Throughout their listening tour, AGO staff will meet with older Vermonters at senior centers, senior meal sites, and elderly housing facilities. Additionally, they will meet with individuals and organizations that provide services to older Vermonters: case managers and social workers from Area Agencies on Aging, Support and Services at Home (SASH), home health agencies and hospitals, and elder advocates, among others.
“Our goal is simple,” Attorney General Donovan said. “We want to understand the most pressing challenges of our state’s aging population, particularly those who are most vulnerable. It’s our responsibility to protect and support older Vermonters. Based on what we learn and the relationships we form and strengthen in the process, our office will seek to refresh and refine its elder protection efforts.”