Hanover Township changing names of welfare, senior services departments

Imminent changes to the names of Hanover Township's departments of welfare services and senior services are intended to better reflect their respective missions, township Supervisor Brian McGuire said Wednesday.

On Oct. 1, welfare services will be renamed human services while senior services will become aging services.

The township's board of trustees unanimously approved both changes this month.

The current name "welfare services" doesn't indicate the variety of programs that the department oversees, McGuire said. While some townships refer to their equivalent departments as "general assistance," Hanover Township chose "human services" to describe such programs as the food pantry, jobseeker counseling, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and overall crisis-intake help, he added.

Moving away from the word "welfare" was seen as a step forward, McGuire said.

"It's certainly a term that carries negative connotations," he said. "Having to request help shouldn't involve public shame."

Ending the name "senior services" was also pursued because "senior" is a term fewer people 55 and older are self-applying, department Director Tracey Colagrossi said. That's expected to be even more true as members of Generation X begin crossing that threshold during the decade ahead.

The soon-to-be Department of Aging Services will aim to promote independence as it continues to assist clients with not only health care and retirement issues, but also to overcome obstacles they may face in returning to employment, Colagrossi said.

Currently, 22.1 percent of Hanover Township's population is 55 and older, McGuire said.

The change is being guided by Colagrossi, who next June will begin a 2-year term as chair of the National Institute of Senior Centers under the National Council on Aging.

"It's a big honor for Hanover Township that Tracey was selected," McGuire said. "Hanover Township has always considered itself a leader."

Earlier evidence of this can be found in the fact that the township's senior center is one of only three that are accredited in Illinois and about 200 nationwide, he added.

The township will host an aging symposium on Sept. 16 at which the future needs of Generation X in the year 2030 will be discussed. That symposium may also lead the township to consider changing the name of its senior center for the same reasons it's changing the name of its Senior Services Department, McGuire said.

By the time the name changes take effect, all the stationery printed with the old names should have been used, he added.