953MNC: REAL Services Aging And Disability Resource Center Connects Community With Vital Services
By 95.3 MNC -December 21, 2020
Julie Olson-Tobias is an adept Google user.
She’s the director of the Aging and Disability Resource Center at REAL Services, and she says that while the program is focused on connecting folks with vital services, sometimes callers just want to know the name of the bakery downtown; Julie and her team are happy to Google that for them, too.
“But if the need is: ‘I’m a caregiver. My husband has dementia. I can’t take care of him anymore. What am I supposed to do?’ then we’re going to spend some time,” she says. “That might be 30 minutes or more. And that might just be the first conversation. … I may present some options and the caregiver explores those and calls back with some more questions or needing some more guidance.”
Julie says that what the ADRC at REAL Services does is provide options counseling, which is supported decision making for individuals and their caregivers.