News

PACE program’s outreach director on elder care options

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There are many things to be considered when loved ones can no longer care for themselves alone. However, nursing homes and long-term care can be expensive and being in an unfamiliar place can be frightening. Michelle Rincon, community outreach director for Senior CommUnity Care of Michigan PACE, talks about the alternatives for elderly people wanting to spend their last years with family members who still want to be involved in their loved ones’ lives. Q: What are the origins of the PACE program? A: So, it started out in California, in San Francisco, in a Filipino community where they realized that there wasn’t enough alternatives for aging adults.

News

Marna Wilson: Living legend in mid-Michigan

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At the Spartan Newsroom, we have partnered with Dr. Clare Luz of AgeAlive to speak with people in the communities surrounding mid-Michigan to spotlight local “Living Legends” and others in the community that make an impact through AgeAlive’s programs.

Below is a conversation with Marna Wilson, who is on the board at AgeAlive and is very active in the community. https://youtu.be/s3qq7mShTGQ

News

AgeAlive board member on need for direct-care workers

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Dr. Charles Gliozzo is a board member at AgeAlive and IMPART Alliance, two organizations that aim to support direct-care workers by advocating for increased wages and benefits, professionalization of workers and the collection of more accurate data regarding this career and workers. They usually work at private homes and nursing homes and their work allows these people to live with the highest level of independence and quality of life. Some issues direct-care workers face  include personnel shortage, low wages and disrespect. In this interview, Gliozzo provided insight on the importance of direct-care workers, how to support thiem and how these organizations have already impacted the lives of many in the workforce. https://soundcloud.com/mariana-santos-bittencourt-de-almeida/dr-gliozzo-interview-spartan-newsroom?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

News

Director of Prime Time Seniors Program keeps people moving

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As director of the Prime Time Seniors Program, Kelly Arndt helps seniors’ physical, intellectual and emotional well-being. The program’s main goal is to provide support for the senior citizens in the East Lansing/Lansing community. Arndt oversees all the events this program has for seniors and seeks out other community members to participate. She goes into detail in this video about her background and aspirations, some current events going on within the program, the newsletter and an overall highlight of all of the projects.

News

Cooking with Chef Rajeev, Habitat for Humanity volunteer

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After immigrating from India and working everywhere from the Middle East to Europe and a cruise ship in between, Chef Rajeev Patgaonkar has learned the importance of building a community—wherever you are.

An East Lansing resident of 28 years Patgaonkarhas built his community through his job as a chef, often volunteering with local organizations such as the Lansing chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and most recently AgeAlive.

News

Student balances schoolwork with caring for people

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Grand Valley State University junior Megan Pnacek is a direct care worker at Heritage Homes in the Grand Rapids suburbs. Pnacek is currently balancing the life as a student and a direct care worker as direct care workers continue to face struggles in the workplace in the times of COVID-19. In addition to her life as a student, Pnacek spoke on how the profession can improve, how they can entice workers to stay in the industry and her day to day life as a direct care worker.

News

Ingham promotes equity for women while facing 1:13 gender ratio on commisson

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The Ingham County Commission passed a resolution declaring March 2022 Women’s History Month for Ingham while facing the reality that it could be looking at a future board containing only one female commissioner. 

“Our County Board of Commissioners faces a sadly shrinking female minority,” said Commissioner Emily Stivers. Only three of the 14 county commissioners are women. Two of those women are not seeking reelection. 

Stivers said she hoped the resolution encouraged women to run for county commissioner and other government positions. “Ingham County has strong female leadership,” Stivers said. “Female candidates can find strong support.” The filing deadline is April 19, 2022, and there will be several seats without incumbents. 


Women make up over 51% of the population of Ingham County, and 50.2% of the workforce.

News

Artist captures DeWitt history with an unlikely medium: fabric

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It’s one thing to read about history, leafing through textbook pages, trying to find meaning in the stories and happenings of the past. Seeing history, though, yields an entirely different, immersive experience, especially when it’s brought to life on something as unusual as fabric. Cameryn CassPeggy Szasz with her handmade downtown DeWitt quilt.

A seasoned quilter and artist, Peggy Szasz, has turned traditional quilting into a medium for storytelling, encapsulating DeWitt history through lively landscapes of buildings and homes central to the town. Szasz said her favorite buildings to include are the ones that no longer exist. 

“If I hadn’t done this, they’re gone,” Szasz said. “Because they’re on this fabric, this quilt, wherever it ends up when I’m gone, these buildings are still here.” 

Szasz began quilting 29 years ago by somewhat of an accident.

Focus: HOPE Main Building located at 1400 Oakman Blvd, Detroit, Michigan.
News

Focus: HOPE continues to impact Detroit

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The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop Focus: HOPE, a non-profit organization, from supporting Detroit residents. Early Childhood Specialist for Focus: HOPE Juan Ruiz said, “We were really comprehensive in our COVID protocols, we worked closely with the state, the county and the city before we opened up anything.”

Impact on volunteers

With COVID cases increasing, the stay-at-home order and people leaving jobs, Focus: HOPE was worried about a decrease in its volunteers. “We were concerned that we would lose our volunteers,” said Kubik. “We lost a lot of our corporate groups because their businesses worked from home, but we gained many individuals who were sent home from work, had time to get away for a few hours and came and helped us out, so we never really missed a beat with the volunteers.”

Impact on seniors

With the stay at home order in place, it urged families to not leave the house unless it was to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, engage in outdoor activities or go to the hospitals. With these rules in place, many seniors didn’t want to leave the house, which caused Focus: HOPE to think of a solution for getting the food boxes to the seniors. 

“We would get calls from seniors who were afraid to leave the house because of the stay-at-home order,” said Kubik.

Article

‘Local government is where the rubber hits the road:’ how local governments are responding to COVID-19

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In Michigan, all eyes are on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to see how she responds to the COVID-19 outbreak. But when it comes to searching for an end to the pandemic, it’s local governments that are on the front lines, said Mason Mayor Russell Whipple.

“This problem will not be solved by the federal government, or the state government, or even the county government,” he said. “It’s going to be solved by local governments, because local governments are going to be the ones that have to actually deal with the day-to-day. We take directions from the state and county health departments. But we’re the ones that make it happen.”