By Angela ChangThe Daily Northwestern
Betty McDonald has always insisted on doing things for herself.
When her husband died, she got a job to support her two sons and then lived on her own for years after her children left the family home in Maryland.
But two years ago, McDonald, 87, decided she could no longer live on her own and moved to the North Shore Retirement Hotel, 1611 Chicago Ave.
She said she told people at the time, “I don’t want to sell my house and I don’t want to be 84, but I’ve got both problems.”
Many senior citizens in Evanston face the same dilemma. They relish their independence but at times need to turn to others for help.
Life can be particularly hard during Evanston’s cold winters, since many senior citizens no longer drive.
McDonald used to walk six blocks from the North Shore Retirement Hotel to a Jewel-Osco to pick up groceries for friends. A few months ago, her leg went out. Now, she can’t walk much more than a block without sitting down and must wait for taxis.
Evanston has a number of agencies and programs to assist the more than 8,000 senior citizens in the city – about 11 percent of the city’s population. But some services cost money or are available only to residents who meet certain qualifications.
The Evanston Commission on Aging receives more than 2,000 requests for information or assistance throughout the year, said Nancy Flowers, the commission’s ombudsman. It’s the commission’s duty to identify the needs of the city’s elderly and find ways to solve the problems.
“The focus is to help people stay at home as long as possible, get them linked up, or to make sure they know their rights,” Flowers said.
Flowers said the commission provides services such as vouchers to subsidize taxi fares, a handyman program, free leaf raking, in-home care and well-being checks in the summer and winter.
Sometimes a family wants to help by shoveling snow off a neighbor’s sidewalk, Flowers said.
Most seniors are referred to the commission by concerned family members or neighbors. In one instance, Flowers said someone called about her elderly neighbor, who had locked herself out of her house at 11 p.m.
“I will talk to people about what their needs are,” Flowers said. “It’s about respect and supporting that they have a right to make decisions about their lives.”
Other agencies in Evanston, such as the Council for Jewish Elderly Adult Day Services, 1015 W. Howard St., also provide programs to assist senior citizens.
The Council for Jewish Elderly provides programming for seniors who are looking for activities to keep them occupied during the day. As many as 45 clients are picked up by the Shalom Bus each day. The bus runs on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and offers rides to destinations such as grocery stores and medical offices.
Bill Gilardon, a program support specialist, said activities at the Howard Street center vary from day to day.
Events have included pet therapy, lectures and performances from local schools.
“The idea is to keep people in the community as long as possible in a stimulating, safe environment,” Gilardon said.
Some residents, such as Linda Wunder, SESP ’60, say they don’t need help. Wunder, 87, moved to the North Shore Retirement Hotel after she suffered a stroke.
But she shrugs off the notion that she needs help.
“I don’t need a car,” Wunder said. “I can take the train downtown, I walk two miles every day without a cane and without a walker.”
For those like McDonald and Wunder, maintaining independence is still important.
“People would say, ‘Betty, why don’t you let other people do that?’ But I like doing it for myself,” McDonald said. “You can do it when you want to do it.”
Reach Angela Chang at [email protected].
