CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) – Are you a senior citizen who feels like they’re being left behind by today’s high-tech world?
If you answered yes, and you live in southeast Missouri, there’s a program designed to help catch you up.
“Technology is here and it’s not going away,” said Liz Yokely, chief operating officer for Aging Matters.
In October, her organization became the second in Missouri to partner with Senior Planet, a nationwide group that offers free technology classes to people 60 and older.
“Individuals would be coming into aging matters, and we’d be talking about Medicare or Social Security benefits or, you know, just different things and everything required people to go online,” she said.
People like 78-year-old Dale Beaty. He’s a part of the Senior Planet Program at the Kennett Oaks Nutrition Center.
“I had used a computer myself, but all I knew how to do is do emails and receive. But I never went on the web. But now I can do that,” Beaty said.
The program in Kennett is run by Christina Nixon. She said learning to surf the web gives people like Beaty more confidence.
“It’s a way to help them be more independent, not having to ask, you know, a child or a grandchild to show me how to do this or do this for me,” Nixon said. “Now they can do it themselves.”
And while Beaty continues to learn new skills, Yokley told Heartland News the waiting list for the program is growing.
“It shows you the need Is there the interest is there. I’m just so glad that we could bring it to our area here in Southeast Missouri,” Yokely said.
Yokely said she hopes the Senior Planet Program will eventually be available in all 18 counties they serve.
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