Department of Family Services Alert:
Betty Graves is Enjoying Her Life One Day at a Time
Betty Graves is a charismatic and joyful person, bringing a smile to the face of everyone she meets. After raising three children and a long, satisfying career as a special education teacher, the 86-year-old is spending her retirement years giving back, engaging with her community, trying new things, and doing what she loves. Read more.
Everyone Can Help Combat the Opioid Crisis
In Fairfax County, more people die from drug overdoses than car accidents. Many fatal overdoses in Fairfax involve opioids, which are a class of drugs that include synthetic opioids such as fentanyl; pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, and morphine; the illegal drug heroin; and many others. Use of opioids, either by themselves or in combination with other drugs, is a major driver of the national drug overdose crisis. Like communities across the nation, in recent years, the vast majority of overdose deaths in Fairfax County have involved illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Read more.
Using Virtual Reality to Explore Elder Safety & Well-Being in Older Adults
Older adults experience challenges and frustrations that can be difficult to understand, even if you work with older people, or are a caregiver, family member, neighbor, or friend. Hoping to change that, a new training series is being offered and facilitated by ElderLink, a partnership program between the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and Inova. Called Exploring the Dimensions of Aging through Virtual Reality, this initiative allows participants to “see through the eyes” of older adults to better understand what it is like for them to encounter various challenges in daily life. Read more.
Resources to Help with Grief and Loss
August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day; an annual recognition highlighting the wide-ranging experience and impacts of grief. Symptoms of grief may be physical, emotional, and behavioral. While each of us experience grief differently, you don’t have to go through it alone. If you have experienced a loss and are struggling to cope with your grief, there are resources available to help, including one-on-one counseling and grief support groups. Read more.
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