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Athens County Senior Citizens Gather for Safety Event
< < Back to athens-county-senior-citizens-gather-for-safety-event- Athens County Senior Citizens Gather for Safety Event Ben Postlethwait 3:29
Senior citizens, law enforcement, and local community services came together on Thursday for the first annual Senior Safety Day at the Athens Fair Grounds.
Dozens of attendees came to the event which featured free food, giveaways, and – most importantly – information on how seniors in Athens County can use various resources to live safer lives.
Fred Davis is the Director of the Emergency Management Agency and a co-organizer of the event. He said that, too often, the county doesn’t target educational outreach events to adults.
“Our theme is ‘Safety is an Attitude.’ We want these folks to be aware of how many agencies are in the county to help them with any need they have. We also want to make them aware that they’re capable to develop an attitude to help neighbors in a time of tornado, flooding, wind, etc.”
State Fire Marshall Larry Flowers was also in attendance. He said that, despite the big turn out for the county-wide event, educating and reaching out to seniors is a state-wide issue.
In addition to door prizes, food, and free giveaways, a host of community groups came together with informational pamphlets that aimed to educate seniors on the different issues that affect them.
One attendee, Charlotte Lambert from The Plains, said that she came out partly to learn more about how to help her aging neighbors.
“Some of my neighbors are elderly, or older, as well as people in the church that I attend, the Athens Church of Christ, they often need services.” Lambert said. “I’m educating myself for myself, and also people that I help or know that I can say ‘Hey, there’s help for what you’re dealing with.'”
Groups in attendance included United Seniors of Athens County, University Police Department, City of Athens Public Transportation, the Athens County Sheriffs Department, O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, the Red Cross, and many more.
Ryan Lippe, a Consumer Educator with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, was stationed at a desk, handing out information on different phone scams that often target senior citizens in the state, urging attendees to take steps to protect themselves. He said these scams aren’t just target people in Athens County.
“We are statewide in terms of trying to get out the message that older Ohioans need to steer clear of scams. They need to be very careful of elder abuse and elder fraud,” Lippe said. “Older people in Athens County have been responsive to and I think we know from the turn out at this first annual event, how much they need to know and how willing they are to learn about safety issues.”
Fred Davis of the event, said that, given the turn-out for this year’s event, they hope to make it an annual event in Athens County.