By Staff
Kim West
With more and more retirees returning to the workforce, there is a greater need for employment assistance programs for seniors.
Local seniors can take advantage of the Senior Aide program sponsored by the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments, which includes Franklin, Lauderdale, Colbert, Marion and Winston Counties.
The program, which is funded by Senior Service America and the Alabama Department of Senior Services, provides part-time employment for people ages 55 or older with limited financial means but are still mentally and physically able to work.
"We have 83 workers in a five-county area," said Max Todd, a Senior Aide program director for Senior Aide whose coverage area stretches from Rogersville in Lauderdale County to Winfield in Marion County. "We screen to make sure people are physically fit because these are not green-thumb jobs – these people work."
Local government units and non-profit organizations employ senior aides, who typically work for a host agency for at least two years, according to NACOLG.
"We have go with non-profits when placing people in jobs," Todd said. "And we have workers in city halls, city schools and city governments.
"The City of Red Bay has five of my workers who do a lot of different activities."
Todd said seniors are returning to work in greater numbers than in years past, and he expects it continue to increase.
"Why would want someone age 55 or older want to go back to work?" Todd said. "Because we're an aging population, and we just have a workforce that's changing and an economy that's the worst I've ever seen it.
"By 2012, the number of Americans ages 55 and older in the workforce will increase by 33 percent."
For more information about the program, contact NACOLG at (256) 389-0537 or visit nacolg.com.