L

OLD FRIENDS

We used to give rides to everybody, and many friends were always here. Now we can't drive anymore, and no one hardly ever visits us. It'd be nice to get out, for go ride...

Moochy (his dog) protects me. He's a good dog; he can hear if anyone tries to break in. My son is never home; I hardly ever see him. Moochy takes care of me.

The man, bent by many years always dressed in the same black suit can be seen going east and west and east and west, always on the same Lakeshore bus. Passengers greet him as an acquaintance. Apparently, he loves the sense of moving about which he can't find in his Center Manor (apartment for the elderly) apartment. Once he was joined by a neighbor from the third floor, a woman saying: / used to live by the lake around E. 55th St. I used to go for walks by the lake. Oh, I love the lake, and I take this bus just to get a ride so I can see it.

What She Wants visited the office of the

LETTERS

I've seen your magazine only once, but with that experience I learned from and enjoyed your publication very much. I understand that a financial problem exists, and I hope that my subscription will help to lessen the burden. I live in Kent and work in Cleveland. Thank you.

Humanely, Deborah Weiner

I'm trying to get together something that would come off like an anthology of Cleveland women's poetry and would appreciate your help in collecting manuscripts for it... I've only seen a few WSW poetry sections, but they did seem to represent one of the few exposures of viable poetry in Cleveland. Anyhow, this collection would probably be about 500 copies, offset, possibly (probably)(likely) with some drawings... silkscreened cover . . . (or whatever happens). The picture is still fragmented; cohesive suggestions would be welcomed.

% Ground Zero

P.O. Box 91415 Cleveland OH 44101

To all the Women who help to make What She Wants what it is -

I really find this paper stimulating, exciting and interesting. I read your paper pretty regularly and always feel stronger and more sure that my feelings and ideas are shared with 'other women.

I find the material very relevant and the articles very well written, It clearly demonstrates that Cleveland women have all the resources we need to put together fine journalism.

Please let us know when there are women's work. shops or other relevant activities happening in the Cleveland area,

Thanks for being you!

Jane Gerlich

p.s. I just finished your October issue and especially enjoyed Motherhood and Feminism, Abortion, and Lesbian Mothers,

Mayors Commission on Aging, at 601 Lakeside, Room 42. It is a new agency, operating under a Community Plan, trying to get agencies to work together in improving services to older Clevelanders. Help, money etc. is received from the state, city, and other sources.

Anna V. Brown is Executive Director of the Commission. She has a degree and Alpha Kappa Delta honors in Sociology, has an M.A. in race relations, and a long list of civic involvements.

Ms. Brown is a very warm-hearted and concerned person. She gets personally involved in solving some of the more serious problems the elderly encounter. The problem is that not enough people are being reached, and greater coordination and funding are needed.

There are quite a few plans and implementations to ease living conditions for the senior citizen and elderly permanent residents. Somehow, not too many people know about them. She advised them to call the Mayors Commission at 694-2833 for information and referral, especially, for complaints dealing with housing, busses, and other problems.

Also, the older disabled persons should call or write to the newsletter Clearing House, an organization serving the elderly at 601 Lakeside 44114 (631-2212), Why? The voice of the people might get things moving faster, hopefully.

Meanwhile, Ms. Brown was asked about racial separation and the fear some white elderly people have in living together with the black elderly. Now, the black elderly are locked in a ghetto, victims of fear of criminal elements, unable to move out. Elderly black want peace, too. Ms. Brown feels that more exposure is needed, more getting together, to build understanding and eliminate fear. She wished people would get involved, especially the older ones themselves by contacting the Commission and stating their needs.

There are nice apartments for the elderly. Residents will tell you how nice they are, and

The Ms. Shop

Blouses Skirts Pants Tops Jewelry BankAmericard master charge Mon Sat Hours 10:30 to 5:30 pm 1924 Lee Rd. Cleveland Hts, OH

out of fear and apprehension, will not make any demands. There is an 80 year old man in a building with a broken leg. What will he do in case walking becomes impossible and a doctor is needed? Will it be easy to run to the kitchen to make a call? There are no extension phones in elderly apartments. In government-supported buildings, economy is of great importance. Elderly people with walking difficulties should not be left alone and ignored. Every building does not have a nursing program. To feel more alive, the retired members (exmembers) of our society gather to sit by the entrance in the apartment lobby to talk and watch others come and go.

What of their capabilities? Our society apparently believes that elderly is synonymous with backward, slow, silly. They sit there, after 65 or 70, stretching their minutes, df drifting into oblivion little by little, losing their hold.

Programs planned for them (they must speak English) are geared for rehabilitation, recreation, etc., which means learning something, shopping on a bus, or watching a simple program at a library. Surely, there are people with creative mental capacity enough to continue and maybe start a work activity better than those in existence. There are so many lonely, abandoned elderly needing a real program, not just a study of their problems.

The strict rule of no pets in buildings for the elderly should be discarded. It should become flexible, dealing with each individual case. So, instead of petting the privileged manager's pet, lonely elderly, if capable, could have the joy of caring for their own little companion. It is known how a pet can bring a person back to awareness and well-being.

Health programs for physical (especially dental) and mental health are highly lacking even though many things are promised on paper. The elderly must not be forgotten. They must at least try using the services now offered, see if they work, criticize their inadequacies, suggest new ways and fight for them. Theyshould contact Ms. Brown at the Mayor's Commission, Clearing House, and also the Grey Panthers, (215-EV-2-6644) 3700 Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pa.

It is not necessary to be dead when one is still breathing.

Lottery

Shanging Plants

cactus

The Plant Gallery 14433 Cedar at Green 381-5151.

[ropical Plants

page 8 What She Wants/ January 1975