Once upon a time, not so very long ago, agencies providing social services to senior citizens had a pretty good idea of who they were serving: older adults in their 70s and 80s, who needed help with basic activities like shopping, cooking and transportation. Most were members of fairly homogeneous communities, and spoke and understood English.

Now, as the senior population is exploding, so are the variety of needs, said Mary Ann Bibat, the vice president of senior social services for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. As the Baby Boomers age, there are more younger seniors — the Illinois Department on Aging, the state’s umbrella senior services agency, defines seniors as anyone 60 or older — who are working and active adults, and there are more and more older seniors, in their 90s or over 100, who need much more in the way of care.

“When you say someone is a senior, you have to be awfully careful not to lump them all in the same group,” Bibat said.

Catholic Charities provides an array of services for the department on aging, including coordination of care, mostly on the North Side; in-home care providers, mostly on the South Side (the Department on Aging does not want one agency making referrals to itself; senior housing; adult protective services for seniors and disabled adults; senior day care; a new hospital-to-home transition program, working with four south suburban hospitals; and four senior centers.

“Catholic Charities has changed our services for seniors as their needs change. The variety of activities we offer at our senior centers, residences, and adult day programs reflect the interests and abilities of both the younger and older groups in our senior population,” said Msgr. Michael M. Boland, administrator, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Growing senior population
The agency’s Senior Services division helped more than 95,000 people in its last fiscal year, according to Catholic Charities spokeswoman Sheila Haennicke, and agency-wide, Catholic Charities served more than 240,000 seniors, in areas such as housing and nutrition in addition to senior services.

Those numbers reflect the growing senior population nationwide. The U.S. Administration on Aging defines seniors as people 65 years old and older, and says that population grew by 18 percent between 2000 and 2011. One in every eight Americans is a senior, according to the administration.

In most cases, Catholic Charities works with an array of other service providers to make sure each client gets what he or she needs, Bibat said. For example, the care coordinators can schedule home visits to evaluate exactly what the senior needs, from help cleaning to financial advice, then contact the providers who will actually perform the services. In some cases, that’s another social service agency. In other cases, it might be a local parish with a food pantry.

“A lot of what we do is community outreach, finding out what services are available in the neighborhoods,” Bibat said.

One thing that has increased dramatically in the last 10 years or so is the need for assistance for seniors who speak other languages, especially Russian, Arabic, Korean and Mandarin, in addition to Spanish.

The senior centers might best demonstrate the variety of programs needed. While all kinds of wellness programs are popular, the senior centers offer everything from chair aerobics and yoga for people who are no longer steady on their feet to Zumba for seniors. Many of the classes are taught by volunteers who are seniors themselves.

Retirees as volunteers
“We have a lot of people who are retired, but they want to keep contributing,” Bibat said, including financial advisors who help other seniors, especially those who are now dependent on their own retirement savings.

“That happens more now, too, where people have 401(k)s, and then there is a problem in the stock market, and they don’t know what to do,” Bibat said. “Fifteen or 20 years ago, the seniors had mostly pensions and social security.”

Others share their knowledge of art, technology or other skills.

“They still want to be involved and do creative things,” Bibat said.

Each senior center now has a computer lab because seniors want to be able to use technology to keep up with their families through email, Skype and Facebook. They also have to get used to using computers for dealing with government agencies, many of which use email as a default communications mechanism.

Increased use of technology
At the same time, care coordinators and other workers who visit seniors in their homes have seen technology revolutionize their jobs as well. Where they once would have brought a stack of carbon forms and a ballpoint, they now travel with laptops and tablets. Those who help set up other services bring a portable scanner so they can enter the documents they need without ever having to take them out of the senior’s home.

“Our goal is to walk them through, so they’re not alone in that,” Bibat said.

Catholic Charities also has counselors that can help seniors figure out how to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, especially those under 65 who do not yet qualify for Medicare.

One thing hasn’t changed, Bibat said.

“There’s always bingo,” she said. “It was popular when I started here years ago, and it’s still popular.”

For more information on Catholic Charities Senior Services, or to volunteer, visit catholiccharities.net or call (312) 655-7700.