Seniors Corner: United Communities Group Has a Mission

By Chuck Reutter

Garry and Thelma Grant brought the group Riverside County Unincorporated Communities to the Sun City section of Menifee in the late 1990s. The group, now known as the Riverside County United Communities, meets in Boston Billies restaurant on the third Saturday of the month. The meeting starts with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and follows with speakers and information.

In 1983, Riverside County Supervisor Patricia “Corky” Larson, along with LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission for Riverside County, agreed to the formation of the Riverside County Unincorporated Communities. This was the result of the concerns of citizens living in those unincorporated areas of Riverside County. In 2009, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors believed RCUC was hindering the development of a General Plan. As a result, this led to the private formation of the Riverside County United Communities organization we know today.

One of the many focuses RCUC has is bringing in speakers from all levels of local and state government and providing our citizens with the opportunity to ask questions and get to know what their government representative is doing for them. In addition, community activists have spoken at RCUC meetings about such issues as the Medical Marijuana movement and the UN Agenda 21 issue.

Garry Grant desires to create a broad understanding on how to use the tools of democracy and how the United States Constitution best serves our people. High school and college students are welcome to attend these meetings and learn about the workings of our local and state government.

Chuck Reutter, a longtime resident of the Sun City area of Menifee, shares his thoughts on the senior scene here monthly.

Seniors Corner: Community Access Center Improves Services

By Chuck Reutter

Update: The opening of the Community Access Center office has been delayed until February due to communication issues. The opening date will be announced when the center is ready to go forward with its efforts to provide help to people who are dealing with disabilities.

A Community Access Center office will soon open in the Sun City section of Menifee to provide services needed by seniors, including Senior Low Vision Kits, wheelchair ramps, help with sight issues and other issues to help people with disabilities remain independent.

CAC is one of 29 Independent Living Centers in California. An independent living center is a consumer controlled, community based, cross disability, nonresidential private nonprofit agency that is designed and operated within a local community by individuals with disabilities.

Independent living services maximize the ability to live independently in the environment of one’s own choosing. The 29 independent living centers offer five core services mandated by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. California added two additional core services.

Cores services provided at the CAC will be:

Information and referrals
Advocacy
Independent living skills
Assistive technology
Peer counseling
Personal Assistance Services
Housing

Independent living, as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at disability and society, and a worldwide movement of people with disabilities working for self-determination, self-respect and equal opportunities. In the context of eldercare, independent living is seen as a step in the continuum of care, with assisted living being the next step.

Proponents of the IL Movement claim that preconceived notions and a predominantly medical view of disability contribute to negative attitudes toward people with disabilities, portraying them as sick, defective and deviant persons, as objects of professional intervention, as a burden for themselves and their families, dependent on other people’s charity.

Chuck Reutter, a longtime resident of the Sun City area of Menifee, shares his thoughts on the senior scene here monthly.