Community for All Ages in Merriam

Merriam City Hall continues to address and update all accessibility concerns, including hand-wave entry doors, lower desks, sitting areas at the services windows, and an elevator.

The Merriam Community Center and indoor/pool are designed and constructed to meet all ADA/accessibility requirements.  

The Merriam Community Center has elevators installed in the parking structure and building that can be easily used by individuals with mobility issues. 

Merriam Community Center parking meets all ADA parking requirements. There’s also a drop-off/pickup location with a zero-curb height near the community center entrance.

The drop off/pickup area is used by individuals with limited mobility and the Meals on Wheels program, which utilizes the community center for food distribution by volunteers.

Both City Hall and the Merriam Community Center have specific waiting/seating areas for customers with mobility and stamina concerns.

The City recently complete and adopted two plans that specifically addresses improvements to encourage walkability in downtown Merriam.  

• Merriam Connected Corridor Plan

• Downtown Merriam Corridor Plan

These plans identify improvements to downtown Merriam that will make the area accessible to all mobility options. The City of Merriam is already moving forward on a public improvement plan for downtown Merriam that implements many of the recommended pedestrian improvements to improve the walkability of downtown.

City property maintenance enforcement staff has a number of grant programs available to help property owners with maintaining their homes. The grants help residents with making exterior improvements, including repairing/replacing driveways, making energy-efficiency improvements, installing rain gardens and trees, and addressing exterior code violations. Staff can hand or mail residents information about all of the grant programs. The grant programs are on the City’s website.  

The City’s Residential Property Tax Rebate program rebates the City’s portion of an income-eligible resident property owner’s property tax.  

The Merriam Police Department provides many services to help residents protect their property, including internet exchange parking, house watch, community video partnership, and neighborhood watch. All of these programs strengthen the City’s crime prevention efforts.

The City partners with RideKC in Johnson County to identify high use transits stops and install benches and shelters for transit riders.

The City’s website links to transportation providers in the Kansas City metro region.

When appropriate, the City requires new developments, such as Merriam Grand Station, to install transit stops.  

The City of Merriam’s Park and Recreation website has information on community activities and events. Users can sign up for “Boomer Buzz” to get listings for specials events, programs, and classes dedicated to individuals 50 and older.  

The City emails a weekly newsletter, E-Merriam, which provides information on City events and activities. The City also mails the Merriam Highlights & Recreation magazine three times a year to all residents. The magazine has a dedication space for the older population about upcoming City programs and activities.

The City of Merriam provides many opportunities for individuals interested in volunteering their time and skills. They can sign up to be a volunteer through the City’s website.  

Residents can volunteer for City events, committees, boards, and commissions. The City has a dedicated process for individuals to express their interest in being a volunteer.

The City advertises that it will, to the best of its ability, address the communications needs of all persons. The City meeting facilities are accessible to those with mobility and hearing challenges.

The City’s zoning code allows for a grocery store to locate in Merriam and retail establishments to expand the availability of healthy food options. The City will also consider a public/private partnership with a developer to bring a grocery store to Merriam.

The Merriam Community Center is an important distribution location for the Johnson County Meals on Wheels program.

The City has a Compost Bin Rebate program to encourage residents to compost. The City schedules a composting workshop for residents and reimburses residents a portion of the costs to buy or build a compost bin.

Many older adults face challenges of inadequate finances

When Social Security began in 1935, close to 50 percent of the elderly American population lived in poverty. By 1959, the poverty rate had fallen to 35 percent, but remained higher than that of other age groups including children and working-age adults. During the 1960s and early '70s, Social Security benefits increased and poverty rates among the elderly declined. By 1974, the poverty rate for elderly Americans had fallen below that for children, where it remained. In 1993, it fell below the rate for working-age adults. Today, about 11 percent of the elderly have incomes below the federal poverty line.

The Social Security Administration estimates that 47 percent of individuals age 65 or older would live in poverty without Social Security benefits, four times as many in poverty today. 10 million seniors survive on an annual income of $10,800 and half of those 65 or older have individual annual incomes of less than $18,500.

Some facts about older adults' finances:

• One-third of families whose head of household is 65–74 have at least $40,000 of debt.
• 70 percent of seniors are spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing. 40 percent spend half.
• 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries spend at least 10 percent of their income on medical expenses. Older and poorer seniors spend closer to 25 percent.
• 60 percent of families whose head of household is 65 or older have no money in retirement savings accounts. Of those boomers with any savings, half have less than $60,800
• 20 percent of those over age 65 will never be able to retire and 50 percent are one event away from being forced into economic hardship and bankruptcy.
• Only 3 percent of adults carry long-term care insurance that could help them with the financial burden of nursing home care.
• The lack of "financial literacy" is significantly detrimental to retirement planning.

Unfortunately, millions of seniors are missing out on more than $20 billion in Social Security benefits, for which they qualify but don't know are available. Other seniors, who do receive the benefits, depend solely on that income, approximately $12,000 a year, and must use these minimal resources on substandard housing, food, and limited health care.

What is the health of our older adult population?

People under age 65 without health insurance become sick at a younger age and stay sick longer after they turn 65. Those on Medicaid also get sick earlier, and they don't get quality medical care.

One in four Americans has multiple chronic health conditions. That number increases to two of every three persons over age 65 and those who are poor and disabled. Two-thirds of health care dollars and 96 percent of Medicare dollars are used to meet the needs of those with multiple chronic conditions. Too many health care resources are spent on hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge.

Predictions indicate that there will be 45,000 fewer new physicians in the next 10 years. Only 2 percent of medical doctors choose to specialize in gerontology.

Obesity rates are 35 percent among adults, but projected to rise to 45 percent by 2020, which is double the rate in 1962. The consequences of the obesity epidemic include diabetes, heart disease and a host of other maladies. According to one study, the annual health care cost of obesity in America is $190 billion.

According to Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 will need an estimated $240,000 to cover their medical expenses throughout retirement, a 4 percent increase from 2010.

Caregiving will become increasingly important

One in four adult Americans serve as caregivers to an elderly relative, friend or spouse experiencing difficulty managing daily activities. For those who can’t serve as caregivers for their own loved ones, choosing a caregiver is one of the most important decisions an adult child will ever face. Many delay this decision, or fail to prepare for the time when it must be made, until a crisis occurs.

Most seniors want to "age in place" rather than go to a nursing home. In fact, 80 percent of seniors are likely to stay in their homes because they will not require long-term institutional care until the very last days of their lives. This will bring issues of isolation, mobility challenges, and the need for new systems of medical/social services delivery. Caregiving, health delivery and transportation will become increasing challenges.

A report from AARP found that in 2009 about 42.1 million caregivers were caring for seniors at any given point in time.

Some facts about caregivers:

• A typical caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who works outside the home. The age of caregivers ranges from 16 to 98. 69 percent are female; 63 percent are married. Just over half have less than $30,000 annual income; 63 percent share the same household. 36 percent report fair to poor health.
• Over half are people of color. 77 percent provide care every day. 53 percent report they provide care for someone with three or more problems.
• Caregiving can take a considerable toll on the caregiver's physical and emotional health:
• • 69 percent said caregiving for a loved one was their number one source of stress.
  • Up to half of caregivers meet the diagnostic criteria for "major depression."
  • Up to 35 percent perceive their health as fair to poor - a higher range than non-caregivers report.
• Caregivers also experience financial stress. Some even make sacrifices that potentially compromise their own retirement security. Average out-of-pocket expense for caregivers is $5,531 per year; $5,885 when the caregiver and care recipient live together; and $8,728 if helping from a distance. A recent study found that 60 percent of caregivers were concerned about the impact of providing care on their personal savings.
• Caregivers to persons age 50 and older reported spending an average of more than 10 percent of their annual income on caregiving expenses. Those with the lowest incomes (less than $25,000) reported spending more than 20 percent of their annual income on caregiving expenses.
• Almost 70 percent report "making work accommodations," including leaving early or taking time off. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), employee time off for providing care to a senior adult now exceeds time off caring for a child. Estimates are that employees will lose some $3 trillion in wages and benefits because they must take time off from work to care for an aging parent.
• There is a need to increase training for the nation’s caregiving workforce, but low wages and the absence of widespread standards and licensing policies present barriers to meeting that need.

What are the housing challenges older adults face?

Most senior adults live in private homes and rarely move. Over half of baby boomers said they were unlikely to move someplace new in retirement. An AARP study found that 89 percent of people age 50 and older said they would prefer to remain in their home indefinitely as they age. However, existing low-income housing stock is inadequate and deteriorating. The U.S. needs an additional 10,000 low-income housing units each year, but H.U.D. paid for only 600 in 2010, and that number is likely to decline.

Ideally, building "livable communities" — those with affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, and adequate mobility options - would be best, but many seniors live in neighborhoods built in the years following World War II, and these "naturally occurring retirement communities," referred to as "NORCs" may not offer the kinds of services and support their older populations need.

Additionally, many households are now "club sandwich" where both aging parents and unemployed or underemployed children live with the middle generation, putting further strain on their financial well-being. In the U.S., 16 percent of the population lives in three-generation households, and nearly all are headed by boomers.

Many older adults continue to work

According to a Wells Fargo survey, three-fourths of Americans expect to work during traditional retirement years. Of those, 25 percent say they will need to work until at least age 80 before they can afford to retire. According to the EBRI, nearly half of people age 57–63 in 2010 didn’t have enough retirement income to cover basic expenses.

In 2011, 45 percent of retirees left the workforce earlier than planned, often because of health problems or corporate downsizing (EBRI). Of those continuing to work, 47 percent say they do similar work to what they have been doing, while 42 percent say they took a job with less responsibility.

Seven million of those over 65 are still in the labor force, but the average senior job seeker looks for work for more than a year. Some good news for seniors looking for work: "encore careers" serving other seniors are a growing job opportunity.