Assisted Living Waiver Program

The Assisted Living Waiver Program helps bridge the gap between an older adult living in their own home independently and living in a nursing home, providing another cost-effective option for long-term care.

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Benefits Counseling

The Area Office on Aging has Ohio Department of Insurance OSHIIP Medicare counselors who are trained and certified. We provide you with no cost, non-biased, objective Medicare assistance. If you have questions or need help signing up for a plan, we can help you. Call us to find out if you may also qualify for any benefits assistance programs.

New to Medicare? The OSHIIP “Welcome to Medicare series” is an informative and easy to understand introduction to help you better understand your Medicare journey. Click the OSHIIP link below to learn more.

Discover the power of saving on prescriptions, food, utility bills, and health insurance with federal programs designed to assist millions of Americans, age 60+, with limited incomes. You could save up to hundreds of dollars per year, putting more money back into your pocket.

Application assistance with Medicare Savings Plans, Extra Help, HEAP and SNAP.

Call the Area Office on Aging for all of your Medicare questions.

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Family Caregiver Support Program

Families, not social service agencies, nursing homes or government programs, are the main providers of long-term care for older persons in Northwestern Ohio. The National Family Caregiver Support Program, implemented as a part of the Older Americans Act of 2000 recognizes the monumental role caregivers play in caring for older family members. Under this program five basic services are available: information to caregivers about available services; assistance to caregivers in gaining access to services; counseling, support groups, and caregiver training; respite care to enable caregivers to be temporarily relieved from their caregiving responsibilities; and supplemental services, to complement the care provided by family caregivers.

For more information about this program, you can contact the AOoA at 419-382-0624.

Click here for the Caregiving Smarts Resource Guide, 10th Edition.

Get The Family Caregiver Support Program Newsletter

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Home Energy Assistance Program

Summer Crisis Program

The Ohio Energy Assistance Summer Crisis Program provides a one-time benefit to eligible Ohioans with cooling assistance during the summer months. The program runs from July 1st to September 30th.

Who is Eligible for the Summer Crisis Program?

Ohioans with a household income at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and have a member of the household who is at least 60 years old or can provide physician documentation that cooling assistance is needed for a household member's health.

For additional information, please call the Area Office on Aging of NW Ohio at (419) 382-0624.

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Home Repair

Home Repair Program - a state-funded program through the Ohio Department of Aging for minor home repairs and modifications for eligible older adults (60+). Please click the appropriate link below for the home repair application for the desired county. For Erie, Ottawa, and Sandusky Counties, please call Great Lakes Community Action Partnership at 419-334-8911 0r 1-800-775-9767.

Defiance County

Erie County

Fulton County

Henry County

Lucas County

Ottawa County

Paulding County

Sandusky County

Williams County

Wood County

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Housing Development

The Area Office on Aging has the following three subsidiary properties:

1. Island Parkway Manor in Defiance, Ohio
2. Riverview Terrace in Napoleon, Ohio
3. Westhaven Apartments in North Baltimore, Ohio

Additionally, the Area Office on Aging is working with partners on the following affordable senior housing developments:

1. Arlington Senior Apartments
   
2. Thurgood Marshall Senior Apartments

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In-Home Care Programs

The Area Office on Aging's In-Home Care Program for frail, low-income older adults allow that person to live in their own home by providing home-delivered meals and a home health aide to help with bathing and dressing. Other services include minor home modification, emergency response systems, home medical equipment and supplies, adult day services, transportation, and more.

PASSPORT Program – The PASSPORT Program can help with home-delivered meals, bathing, dressing, housekeeping, transportation, emergency response systems, adult day services, equipment and more. PASSPORT also has consumer-directed service options that empower persons 60 years of age and over to be employers of record and hire their own service providers (including friends, neighbors and some relatives) to provide services such as bathing, dressing, housekeeping, meal preparation and others.

To be eligible for PASSPORT, the person must be:

• At least 60 years of age
• Permanently residing in a non-institutional setting (i.e., not in a nursing home or assisted living)
• Qualify for Medicaid under waiver criteria.
• Monthly income maximum is established annually by Medicaid (possible co-pay for services may apply)
• Combined resource maximum of $2,000 or less in savings, checking, etc. (1 car and home are exempt if senior is living in the home)
• Need for hands on assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, grooming, mobility and/or medication assistance)

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Kinship Navigator Program - Supporting Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children

The Kinship Navigator Program supports kinship and grandfamilies in Lucas County who raise children when the biological parents are unable or unwilling to do so and is nationally recognized and Exemplary Designated by the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network (A National Technical Assistance Center). The Kinship Navigator Program provides information and referral services that link kinship and grandfamilies to vital community resources and offers evidence-based programs, support groups, club meetings, a robust summer series, and FREE publications including a quarterly newsletter, bi-weekly e-newsletter, and a highly requested Parenting Smarts Resource Guide. If you are a Lucas County kinship or grandparent raising children you can connect with the Kinship Navigator Program by calling (419) 382-0624, emailing KinshipMailGroup@areaofficeonaging.com, or visiting www.AreaOfficeOnAging.com.

Click here for the Parenting Smarts Resource Guide, 10th Edition.

Click here to learn more about the Designation of Exemplary Kinship Navigator Program from the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network

Clickhereto check out a new article featuring our program as part of an Outreach Learning Community Toolkit by the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network (A National Technical Assistance Center), ZERO TO THREE, and the National Caucus & Center on Black Aging.

Get The Kinship Navigator Program - Supporting Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children Newsletter

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Lucas County Senior Dining Site Program

Lyman W. Liggins Senior Nutrition Program provides a home-style lunch meal Monday-Friday at various dining sites throughout Lucas County. The senior dining program provides an opportunity to enjoy a good meal with friends in a safe, friendly environment. Nutrition education, socialization and other activities are available at the dining sites. For those with limited transportation, a TARTA bus pass may be available to travel to and from the dining site. In addition, a daily (Monday-Friday) hot meal or once a week delivery of frozen meals may be delivered to home-bound individuals 60 years of age or older. Each home-delivered and congregate meal provides one-third the daily recommended key nutrients for individuals 60 years of age and over and includes low-sodium and diabetic-friendly options.

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Managed Care Programs

The Area Office on Aging partners with three managed care plans (Aetna, Buckeye Community Health Plan and CareSource) to coordinate the care of their members who receive Medicaid and/or Medicare benefits through the plans. The Area Office on Aging's care managers and waiver service coordinators help connect the member with the services to meet their needs, such as help with bathing and dressing, home-delivered meals, adult day care and more.  The AOoA coordinates the Medicaid and/or Medicare care of over 2,000 members for managed care plans through the MyCare Ohio Program and the Ohio Home Care Waiver Program.

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Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program

2025 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

Sign up now for the Ohio Department on Aging 2025 Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP).

Online applications close on September 30th.

Last day to use the $50 benefits is November 30th.

This program provides over 22,000 older adults here in northwest Ohio with $50 worth of locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and honey from local farmers to eligible adults 60 years of age or better. Serving Northwestern Ohio counties of Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood counties.

New for 2025: Individuals can spend benefits in dollars and cents.

Program requirements:

• You are age 60 or older
• You have a household income that falls within 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.
  • For 2025, the 185% of the Federal Poverty Level is:
  • $0-$28,953 for a 1-person household
  • $0-$39,128 for a 2-person household
  • $0-$49,303 for a 3-person household
  • $0-$59,478 for a 4-person household
  • $0-$69,653 for a 5-person household
  • $0-$79,828 for a 6-person household

Participating is easy!

1. Apply here: Homegrown Benefits. You will be asked to choose your "Receipt of Benefits" method.
   1. Mobile Benefit: You have an email address and a device that can download a mobile application.
      1. If approved, you will receive an email from Support@HomegrownBenefits.com to confirm your email and set up your password.
      2. Then, download the app on the Google Play or Apple store.
      3. Log in with your email address as your "Username" and the password you created.
   2. Card is refillable and reusable each SFMNP season.
   3. Request a new physical benefit card (which may take 4-6 weeks for delivery).
2. Your $50 benefit will be available after May 15. Happy shopping! Find 2025 Authorized Partner locations and map on this website. Please note: New locations are being authorized throughout the season.
3. Homegrown Benefits Support Line for technical assistance in using the mobile app, checking benefit balance, and setting up an account. 614-412-1729
4. Farmers interested in being authorized, contact Ohio Farmers Market Network page

For any questions regarding application assistance, contact our office at 419-382-0624.

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Seniors and Opioids... What You Need to Know

The Area Office on Aging, the Lucas County Sheriff and Bowling Green State University are blazing a trail to reduce opioid addiction among older adults. Statistics indicate that there’s a new face to opioid addiction … and it’s older. In developing a local strategy to reduce opioid addiction among older adults, these three organizations have become the first partnership of its kind in the nation.

Throughout 2018 and continuing on into 2019, with funding from the Area Office on Aging, Bowling Green State University has conducted educational trainings for over 1,000 people on red flags to look out for that may indicate an older adult is struggling with opioid addiction, how to initiate a conversation with the older adult about this and resources that are available to help them. In March 2019, this partnership has also resulted in the Area Office on Aging hiring a Sheriff's Drug Abuse Response Team (DART) Officer. The DART Officer's goal is to inform older adults on prescription misuse, addiction, and fatal overdoses.

Opioids are prescribed to seniors more than any other age group. It is possible to reduce the impact that opioids have on the senior community.

To view a virtual opioids and older adults presentation, click here and enter the following passcode: D6$C%=Zt

Click here for more information or to schedule a presentation.

D A R T Older Adults Outreach Project

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Volunteer Programs

Volunteer programs allow older adults to give back to the community, and provide a way to remain active. 

RSVP offers a full range of volunteer opportunities with thousands of local and national organizations for people age 55 and over. RSVP provides pre-service orientation, training from the organization served, and supplemental insurance while on duty. 

There are various opportunities available that can be viewed on the Volunteer Web page of this site.  These opportunities include the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol Program where volunteers get trained by the Toledo and Sylvania Township Police Departments and get to ride around in one of their retired patrol cars to help keep home bound older adults safe by visiting them weekly.  These volunteers report any safety concerns that are law enforcement in nature back to the Police Department.  Any safety concerns that are social service in nature get reported back to the Area Office on Aging for follow-up.  

Another volunteer opportunity is the Caregiver Volunteer Respite Program, which allows volunteers to give a family caregiver a temporary break from their role caring for their aging loved one.  Each week, an RSVP trained volunteer comes visit with the aging loved one so caregiver can get a break for a few hours.  

RSVP volunteers also get trained by the Toledo Fire Department and conduct fire education to older adults in the community through the Senior Advocates for Fire Education (SAFE) Program.  Just a few of the other volunteer opportunities include delivering meals to home bound older adults and serving as a reading mentor for elementary school students who need help learning to read.

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