Los Gatos Weekly-Times Senior handbook now available The 1999 edition of theSenior Handbook, a comprehensive guide of resources for seniors in Santa Clara County, is off the press and available at the offices of Information & Referral Services Inc. and at a number of senior centers. The handbook is a response to the growing number of senior citizens in need of various levels of assistance, as well as adult children of seniors seeking information about the maze of services available. Information and Referral Services Inc. has been publishing the handbook since 1984. A private, nonprofit agency, I&R formed in 1973 to bring Santa Clara County's people, resources and services together in a way that provides information and empowerment to those it serves. Since 1981, the organization has targeted senior citizens, their families, their caregivers and service providers as the only county information and assistance program funded by the Older Americans Act. As calls from seniors' caregivers and adult children have grown, the handbook has responded in kind. For ease of reference, the softcover book is organized into four sections, each broken down into subheadings that give further information about particular goods, services, agencies and resources: * Section A includes food and nutrition, health, home and health care, respite care, mental health, substance abuse and counseling. * Section B includes housing, transportation and emergency services. * Section C includes consumer action, death, employment, family support, finances, insurance, veterans' benefits and legal matters. * Section D includes recreation, senior centers and senior nutrition sites, volunteer programs, education and civic and community opportunities. The handbook also contains a glossary, advertisers' index and agency index. Anyone interested in a copy of theSenior Handbook can stop by the I&R office, 1245 S. Winchester Blvd., Suite 200, in San Jose. For more information, call 345-4532. I&R can also direct callers to local senior centers that carry copies of the handbook. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.