HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0748.003 2004-2006
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Testimony
In Support Of The Lease Of The Sun Sun Lau Property To Establish An Aging And
Disabilities Resource Center.
April 19, 2006
Mr. Chairman and Hawaii County Council Members,
I am Robert Gaffney, a retiree from the County of Hawaii Civil Service and a member of
the ADRC Advisory Group. I wish to take a few moments of your time to offer my
support for the lease of the former Sun Sun Lau property as a location to establish an
Aging and Disabilities Resource Center.
Some conditions of life are universal to us all. No matter how active or involved they
may seem today your parents are going to get old. Accidents, injury, or declining health
can put Mom and Dad or other members of your `ohana in need of assistance beyond
what you or the family can give. No matter how much you care your love alone will not
provide all the answers.
I had the privilege to be care-giver for my parents for over 10 year. I say "privilege"
because it was my opportunity to give back just a bit of the attention they had given me.
Now they have both passed on I can look back with pride on the time I spent as a
caregiver. But to be honest there were periods during those ten years that were rugged
and scary. You learn very fast to live one day at a time or you will be drowning in a sea
of worry.
Yes there is help all around. In my case, and I'm sure most it is not only not knowing
when to ask but not knowing who to contact. I was raised with the idea of individual
responsibility. My folks worked, paid taxes, took care of life's day to day problems, and
taught me to do the same. Now those self-reliant people need help and their needs are
more than carrying in a sack of groceries or mowing the lawn. I remember very clearly
the day when I realized Dad was having more difficulty than just walking. I was
collecting their mail and had noticed some over due notices. When I saw him at his desk
I asked him and realized very fast he was have trouble balancing his check book. Money
was not the problem he had just started to become forgetful. My intersession into their
lives and care-giving started there. As I came to learn aging is somewhat the opposite of
maturing. Thing a person took for granted yesterday may prove to be difficult if not
impossible today.
Comm No. -7q O. 3
Ref. Tdr
Reif. Date .
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Balancing a check book or making sure a bill is paid on time is easy. But when it came
to health care, financial issues, services available to seniors, handling problems of
hygiene, personal safety, and all the many other things we take for granted I was lost. Oh
yes there are books on elder care and the Internet. But when my turn came to provide
care in 19911 did not have the Internet at home or know Google and Yahoo the way I do
today.
Even without the tools we take for granted today I was lucky. As a County of Hawaii
employee I was enrolled in an Employee Assistance Program. As I saw my needs grow I
called and was given some direction to other agencies. Fine but I had contact each
separately and each time re-explain my concerns. Within the group of phone numbers
were several County agencies. How fortunate I already knew people within the various
agencies. My greatest good fortune came from handling the County printing being
purchased from outside vendors. Office of Aging was one of the agencies EAP had
suggested I contact and I had copies of many of their handouts at my desk. I knew one
employee in the Office of Aging; I called her and started asking questions. Through the
years that followed Pauline Fukunaga not only answered my questions, suggested
direction, but provided a mentor's support. Certainly as time passed I was involved with
other agencies finally ending with Hospice but whenever we talked Pauline would ask
how I was doing with my care-giving duties.
Each individual's needs are different and no one place or person can satisfy all. The
Aging and Disabilities Resource Center as envisioned for Sun Sun Lau would be a start
in providing one stop access to service available within County and State government.
The Sun Sun Lau plan is only a start. One day we can hope the 911 concept and model
can be applied to life fulfilling services as well as emergencies. For now we need a
location where both families and individuals can learn about available assistance and
programs.
In conclusion I humbly ask your support for the lease of the Sun Sun Lau property and
the development of a one-stop Aging and Disabilities Resource Center. The services may
not lessen the care-giving burden but easy access to assistance can increase the time spent
with a loved one.
RG: 4/19/2006