Age Spots: You don’t need to have silver hair to make a difference

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to work so closely with those who really care about seniors and what is going on in the world today. People who take it upon themselves to use their time and effort to advocate for causes that are important to them and all seniors in Missouri, my Silver Haired Legislature.

The Silver Haired Legislature (SHL) is a formally elected body of citizens 60 years of age or older who promote conscientious legislative advocacy for Missouri’s older adults. Having silver hair is not a requirement, in fact most of my volunteers do not have silver hair, but they do have a desire to serve and help.

All members are volunteers who serve without pay, but they are rewarded with camaraderie and a chance to give back to the community. There are no term limits, so a delegate may be re-elected to an unlimited number of terms. The elected delegates participate in a mock legislative session patterned after the Missouri General Assembly. The session is held in Jefferson City in the fall of each year. Many of the activities take place in the Senate and House chambers of the Capitol building. This legislative session allows SHL delegates to debate the different priorities from all over the state and select the ones that best help Missouri seniors.

The SHL delegates work all year as advocates for senior issues. They are kept abreast of proposed legislation and stay in touch with the legislators. Many of the legislators contact the SHL delegates asking for their input on proposed legislation.

There are 10 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) in Missouri and SHL delegates are elected from each AAA area. This brings about 150 seniors together in Jefferson City to present bills, debate issues and choose the top five for which they will advocate during the year.

The requirements are that one should be able to travel to Jefferson City and/or Cape Girardeau for meetings. It is beneficial for the elected person to be able to send and receive emails, because when the state legislators are in session things happen quickly, and many times you will be contacted on the day of a hearing asking you to contact your state legislator the same day. The other obvious requirement is that one should be interested in the betterment of the lives of Missouri senior citizens.

Elections will be held May 9 at the Senior Nutrition Centers during regular business hours. If you are interested in becoming an SHL delegate you should file a Declaration of Candidacy with Aging Matters, the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging office. This statement must arrive in the office by close of business on April 25. You may obtain an application by contacting our office at 1 (800) 392-8771 or locally at (573) 335-3331 or pick one up at your local senior center. There are seven seats up for election this year, one Senate seat and four Representative seats with two additional Representative seats currently vacant. Please consider making a difference in your community by joining the SHL.