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 The Honorable Mayor
Muriel Bowser greeted nearly 4,000 seniors at the Mayor’s Annual Senior Holiday Celebration held at the
D.C. Armory for District residents.
Mayor
Bowser was welcomed with warm, holiday cheer as she danced with
District seniors, and made her way around the room to wish them well. Seniors were also greeted by DCOA's new Interim Executive Director, Laura Newland. The event featured live entertainment,
musical guests, wellness demonstrations, free facials, manicures and massages,
information exhibits featuring community and government resources. Seniors also enjoyed a catered holiday meal and left the event happy and full of joy.
 DCOA in collaboration with
Community Preservation and Development Corporation held their 3rd Annual
Community Health, Wellness & Informational Fair on Monday, November 30th at
The Overlook Apartments, located at 3700 9th Street, SE in Ward 8.
DCOA
is especially grateful to the Overlook’s amazing and resourceful senior
volunteers for their assistance. This small army
of volunteers ensured that all exhibitors were
placed in the appropriate location; ensured that all available residents
participated in the Community Health Fair by knocking on doors the night of the
event; and as early as 8 am the day of the event! In fact, Katrina Polk,
Seniors Supportive Services Network Manager utilized the volunteers expertise;
to ensure that all exhibitors and their resources were known to all
residents.
DCOA thanks Katrina Polk, for her unselfish act
in opening this event to the surrounding communities! Katrina Polk went
as far as the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center and picked up seniors so
that they could attend this event. Additionally, Community Preservation and
Development Corporation provided a full service, delicious Mediterranean lunch
for the residents, visitors and over 25 exhibitors. Guess who served
everyone! Katrina Polk’s Senior Volunteers.
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A message from our Mayor Muriel Bowser...
This is a busy time of year. Whether
you’re celebrating a winter holiday, wrapping up loose ends, or preparing for
the new year, December tends to have us all on the move.
While we celebrate and reflect, this is also
a time to keep ourselves and our families safe.
As you may have seen in the news recently, a
few residential fires have caused personal harm, displacements and significant
damage. You can follow some easy steps to help prevent fires:
- Do
not use your oven or stovetop for home heating
- Be
sure every level of your home has a working smoke alarm, and remember to
change the batteries every six months
- Plan
and practice a home fire escape plan with your family
- Do
not leave a burning fireplace unattended
- Have
your chimney inspected and cleaned annually, if necessary
- And
make sure your furnace is inspected yearly by a qualified specialist
If you or your neighbors don’t have a smoke
detector, DC Fire and EMS can provide you one free
of charge. For more information or for additional tips, you
can call DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Fire and Life Safety Education
Division at (202) 727-1600.
Together, with your help, we will keep the
District safe and strong during this holiday season.
Winter is around the
corner and that means snow season is close. Mayor Bowser’s goal is for the
District to be snow-ready before winter weather arrives. Some of our
residents, including seniors and individuals with disabilities, are unable to
do their own shoveling. And it’s especially important that ServeDC has
cleared sidewalks and stairs, because they often need to get to medical appointments. ServeDC is recruiting 2,500 volunteers to join their DC Resident Snow
Team and help our vulnerable neighbors with snow removal. If you are
interested in volunteering, please visit www.snowteam.dc.gov. And if you
are a senior over the age of 60, or if you have a disability and do not have
someone in your home who can shovel, please call 311 to register.
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To ensure that you have health coverage beginning January 1, 2016, you must
enroll by 12/15, find out more at DChealthlink.com. Don’t get stuck without
health insurance in 2016. If you get sick, you’ll be on the hook for medical
bills that can be very expensive. You may also have to pay an IRS penalty, up
to $695 or 2.5% of your income (whichever is higher)! Financial help is
available for reduced monthly premiums– it’s time to #GetCovered today!
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