Barbara’s parents, like many seniors in their 80s, are trying to keep from contracting COVID-19 by isolating at home.

To keep fed, they signed up for the governor’s Great Plates program, which delivers two restaurant-quality meals per day; other groceries are ordered online by their daughter.

In normal times, Barbara, who lives two hours away, would visit weekly. Now she uses the phone to connect.

Over the past several months, she has become increasingly worried about her mother’s health and well-being. On a recent phone call, her mother related a story about her arthritis flaring up.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said again and again. Barbara must have heard that phrase over 20 times in the span of a few minutes.

As of September 2020, almost 13 million people in the United States were unemployed. Of course, a great deal of the job losses can be attributed to COVID.

I’m sure any one of us, including me, can name multiple people we know who are out of work as a result of the pandemic; half our staff here at Senior Concerns had to be furloughed due to the closure of our Adult Day Program.

In a post-COVID world, many industries will look different, and many jobs as well.

While having nothing to do with the pandemic, my husband lost his job several months ago. This was a bit of a shock. He is the main breadwinner in our family, and the loss of his job could cause quite a disruption in our lives if he were to remain unemployed for a long time.

Looking for a job during the pandemic seemed fraught with challenge.

Why do seniors turn out to vote more than any other age group?

Older adults, especially those that are no longer working, are particularly susceptible to changes in policy made by elected officials. A large percentage of their income and access to healthcare resources are tied to government programs.

It also helps that seniors have years of experience voting, are generally more familiar with the mechanics of how to vote and have more time to vote than younger voters.

The first presidential debate, which ran earlier this week focused on the records of President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, race and violence, and the integrity of the election.

These are important topics for the country at large, but let’s take a look