Concerned about your care recipient trekking down a long, unsafe driveway to retrieve his mail each day?

The United States Postal Service will authorize mail delivery to a person’s door upon receipt of a letter describing the person’s disability. Just send the letter to your local postmaster. If the local postmaster denies your request, send your letter to the United States Postal Management Section Center for review.

You can also request order forms for stamps and other postal supplies, so that you can order from your home. Or, call 800-STAMPS-24 and purchase the supplies with your Visa, MasterCard or Discover card.

Overwhelmed by the bills to maintain your care recipient’s home?

The government offers many programs to help persons 65 years of age and older. Some programs help those 55 and older. Among the programs available:

• Help for low-income seniors to weatherize their homes and apartments at no charge. Contact: Weatherize Assistance Programs Branch, EE532, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585. 202-426-1698.
• Help to finance home improvements, medical costs of other living expenses through reverse mortgages. Contact: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Help to pay property taxes by deferring payments until the homeowner sells the home or dies. Contact: The Senior Citizens Tax Deferral Program in your state.
• Help in finding affordable housing. Through the Support Housing for the Elderly Programs (Section 202), seniors only pay the rent they can afford. In many states, rents can be no higher than 30% of a person’s adjusted income. Contact: Your local Housing and Urban Development Office.
• Help to stay in their homes, even if they need assistance. The Congregate Housing Services Program provides meals, housekeeping and other personal assistance to elderly, low-income, and disabled residents of Housing and Urban Development-assisted rental dwellings. To learn about these rental properties in your area, call the HUD USER Hotline at 800-245-2691.

Wondering about a Medicare bill? Concerned about finding an appropriate nursing home?

The government has free publications about these and many more subjects available at your local social security office. Available titles include: Understanding Social Security, The Medicare Handbook, Medicare and Your Physician’s Bill and Medicare and Other Health Benefits.

Need to talk to a Social Security representative about Medicare or Social Security benefits?

You can visit your local Social Security office, write to Social Security or call them. Address: Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD, 21235. Telephone: 800-772-1213. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. Best hours to call are mornings, evenings, at the end of the week or toward the end of the month.

Other sources of information from the government:

Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center, P.O. Box 8250, Silver Spring, MD, 20907. Telephone: 301-495-3311 or 800-438-4380. The National Institute on Aging funds 28 Alzheimer’s Disease Centers throughout the United States. Call for a location nearest you and for information about diagnostic and treatment centers, drug trials, clinical research projects and support groups for caregivers.

Office of Consumer Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, HFE88, Rockville, MD 20857. Write for publications about a variety of medications and their safe use.

Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Telephone: 301-594-1012. The organization provides consumers with information about medication side effects and can answer a variety of questions about medications.

National Library of Medicine, Public Information Office, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894. Telephone: 301-496-6308. http:www.nlm.nih.gov. The world’s largest medical research library, the Library of Medicine has a database of journal articles. Contact the organization for a listing of regional libraries.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Information Office, P.O. Box 5801, Bethesda, MD 20824. Telephone: 800-352-9424. The institute provides information about about the cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hundreds of neurological disorders.

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