Schaumburg to host forum for seniors and caregivers

A nine-week educational forum for seniors and their caregivers will kick off June 8 in Schaumburg with appearances by Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Department of Aging Director Charles Johnson.

This first session of "The Greatest Generation Educational Forum" will begin with a free dinner at 6 p.m. at Chandler's Banquets, 401 N. Roselle Road in Schaumburg.

It will be followed by eight further sessions at the same time and place on subsequent Tuesday evenings, all sponsored by the National Alliance for Working Family Caregivers. The series of sessions is free, but attendees must register in advance.

Vice President Bud Borg said the topics of each session will be different and it's intended that all interested people will attend as many of them as they can.

"People are living longer," Borg said. "As they live longer, they need to be more aware of their needs - especially because of the economic conditions that have affected seniors in so many ways."

Quinn and Johnson will address the issue of senior program funding at the first session.

Expert speakers at later sessions will address such topics as "An Overview of Aging," "Elderlaw Basics," "Maintaining Body, Mind and Spirit," "End of Life Preparation" and "Communicating with Healthcare Professionals."

The sessions are designed to be entertaining and informative, a chance to meet other people in similar circumstances and anything but a chore to attend, Borg said.

People who come will want to keep attending and none of the sessions are redundant, he added.

While the week's presentation should be wrapped up by around 8 p.m. each Tuesday, a further hour until 9 p.m. has been reserved for those who want to take part in discussion.

The alliance's plan is to do the nine sessions in Schaumburg through Aug. 3, then take the program to another community. As the next location is expected to be in a different geographical part of the region, interested people who live in the Northwest suburbs are encouraged to take advantage of the Schaumburg sessions.

Schaumburg was picked as the starting point because of the strong cooperation village officials provided, Borg said. "Schaumburg has really dedicated a lot of resources to seniors," he said. "They've done a heck of a job."

For information about registration and sponsorship, call (847) 462- 8266 or e-mail NAWFC@ASilverConnection.com.