Area seniors were given advice on estate planning, decluttering, preventing elder abuse, property taxes, housing resources for veterans and how to navigate housing and care plans with loved ones Saturday.
The Mainstreet Organization of Realtors held its Mainstreet Senior Expo in person for the first time since 2019, including nine special seminars and a vendor fair at the Palos Heights Recreation Center.
“We try to cover topics that help not just the seniors but also their loved ones who are going to help them plan,” explained Harriet Kubicz, chairperson of the Mainstreet Senior Services Committee. “We chose things that are important but that people don’t know where to start or what to do with them.”
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All the seminars were hosted by speakers from Mainstreet’s partner organizations and the event vendors.
The seminar on elder abuse was hosted by Christine Saddreth, a community relations representative for Pathlights, previously known as PLOWS, which co-hosted the expo.
“We are a human services organization for adults 60 and over and for adults over 18 with disabilities,” Saddreth said. “We feel the event brings valuable info to the community, and we have connections with groups that people don’t necessarily know about, so while Mainstreet brings real estate knowledge, we bring other organizations.”
Pathlights also provides home meal delivery, home caregiving services, financial application support and caregiver support groups for seniors taking care of children and for family members providing medical care for elderly relatives.
Other organizations taking part included medical and insurance organizations, Meals on Wheels, Legal Aid Chicago, Pace and the Cook County sheriff’s office senior citizen services.
While many of the attendees were seniors or adult children of seniors, there were several real estate agents in attendance looking to make connections, including Lydia Perez-Twohui of Fathom Realty.
“I wanted to come so I could meet some of the vendors who offer services for seniors. I want to be able to invite them to some of the seminars I’ve hosted and connect them with my clients,” Perez-Twohui said. “It’s been very helpful. It’s good there’s groups doing things like this.”
Ramona Ruskuls, a Mainstreet director, said to become a senior real estate specialist, agents need to have compassion, patience and dedication to help navigate transactions, which can be complicated with other relatives or loved ones involved.
“They need to have a sense of service over self and make the connections their clients might need for home modification or estate planning,” she said.
Ruskuls said there were 80 attendees, and the vendors were pleased to hold the event in person again after a two-year hiatus.
“The turnout was OK,” Kubicz said. “It wasn’t the biggest event we’ve had, but for our first year back in person it was pretty good.”
Community members who did attend seemed to appreciate the information.
“I came because I get email notifications from Pathlights,” said attendee Joan Fahey. “They were wonderful and helped with a lot of information for my mom. I can’t say enough about them, so we came to see what else the event had to offer. It’s nice to see what’s made available to the community. Even if we don’t use it all, you never know when someone you know might need it.”
Sophia Hanna said it was her first time attending.
“There was a wealth of information people were sharing,” Hanna said. “I liked the sessions in each room, especially the talk on estate planning.”
Jessie Molloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.