Updated 8-28-23 (Bethesda, MD)
Crisis hotlines
Safety info, preparing for disaster, emergencies
General information for seniors in MontCo
Transportation options in MontCo
Buying good food, groceries, takeout, dining out
Food assistance programs in MontCo MD
Repairs, parts, appliances, specialty shopping and assistance
Where to donate used computers and other stuff
Composting info from Mom's
Things to do while sheltering in place
Outdoor Maryland
Potential sites for installation of small cell/5G antennae
Election and home-owner info
Village organizations in MontCo MD
Parkside Village website and resources
This is not an official Parkside Village page (Parkside being my village), though I originally created it for them. It's become MY personal information page, geared to Montgomery County. Let me know in Comments section if you have further suggestions. Leave your email address in case I have questions. -- Pat McNees
CRISIS HOTLINES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
• Montgomery County Crisis Center (24-hour): 240-777-4000
DHHS Building 1301 Piccard Dr., Rockville, MD 20850
1-855-634-HOPE (4673)
• Suicide and crisis hotlines, Maryland
• EveryMind Hotline: 301-424-0656
• INFO Montgomery Information and Referral Lines & Hotlines. Specialized directories address specific needs in the community
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR SENIORS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND
• Beacon Seniors’ Resource Guide (useful all year)
• Positive Aging Sourcebook (online/digital edition) You can order the paper edition.
• Sites, Guides and Services for Aging in Place (Parkside Village resource)
• Eligibility Requirements for Select Income-Based Federal and State
SAFETY INFO; PREPARING FOR DISASTER, EMERGENCIES
• Maryland's Senior Call Check Program Maryland is the first state in the country to start a free, opt-in, telephonic service to check on Maryland’s older residents, all across the state.
Call 1-866-50-CHECK or register here (where there is fuller information about the program). Every day a telephone call will be placed to a participant at a regularly scheduled time. These calls will take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. as close as possible to the one-hour time block pre-selected by the participant. If the participant does not answer their first call, they will be tried two more times. If those calls go unanswered, additional calls will be made to notify an alternative person selected by the participant during program enrollment.
• File of Life (MontCo Fire Department) Fill this out and post it on your fridge. It enables Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel to obtain a quick and accurate medical history when a patient or family member is unable to do so.
• Maryland Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) (PDF) Advance directives are legal forms, but they are NOT medical orders. Give your doctor a copy of your advance directive, but be aware of situations in which your advance directive may be ignored.
Before you undergo a procedure or surgery, or if you have an advanced illness, it may be even more important to be sure your medical team has a copy of your Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST), as it in called in Maryland (in other states it may be called a MOST, POLST, POST, COLST, TPOPP, LaPOST, etc. The POLST form (aka MOLST, POST, MOST, ETC.) is a medical order--that's the one emergency and medical personnel are supposed to obey in a medical emergency or a life-threatening situation.
State forms allow you to create these documents which specify the type of care you would like in an emergency medical situation; because these are medical orders signed by doctors, they are the forms emergency medical personnel are most likely to follow. Figure out what your own wishes (and possible options) are or may be in future, share your choices, and talk with your family about what you prefer. If you wish to have no life-sustaining measures taken, the family member who lives near you and sees you all the time may know that and honor your wishes; the family member who rarely sees you and feels guilty about it may want to save your life no matter what (or may want to spare you suffering, despite your wishes to make every effort to extend your life). If the family cannot agree on what care to provide, and if there is no MOLST or POLST, the emergency care medical team is likely to try to save your life, no matter what. Talk with everyone but also express your wishes in writing in a place where your wishes can be found. File one copy with your doctor(s).
• Check for safety: A home fall prevention checklist for older adults (CDC and MetLife)
• Preventing falls, or learning how to do them right (elsewhere on this website)
• Preventing or dealing with frailty
• ElderSAFE Community Resource Guide Education, advocacy, and shelter. The first program of its kind in the Washington, DC metropolitan area to provide safe temporary shelter to older adults experiencing elder abuse. (SmithLife Communities)
• Preventing fraud, elder abuse, guardianship problems and romance scams (general, housing and financial fraud; home improvement scams; telemarketing and phone fraud, including IRS scams; ATM and tax fraud and identity theft; elder abuse; fraud, abuse, neglect in elder guardianship system; where to monitor credit reports, check a charity's status.
• The Costs of Aging Handbook (National Aging in Place Council) Tools to make plans for late in life.
• Resources for Seniors in Montgomery County (Jewish Council on Aging)
• Seniors: Prepare for Emergencies (Maryland Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA) see also MEMA publications and News.
• Voice Your Choice Have you thought about the type of health care you want if you can't speak for yourself? Create an electronic advance care plan or upload an existing advance directive to document your health care wishes and make sure they are easily accessible to loved ones and your health care providers.
TRANSPORTATION
• COVID-19 Essential Delivery Services - Call-N-Ride
• Connections (Nov. 2020 newsletter of The Senior Connection) On pp. 6-7 a two-page directory of Transportation options for Montgomery County Seniors, plus other resources.
• Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities: Explore Your Transportation Options in Montgomery
• Senior Transportation, Montgomery County, MD
• Transportation Network Directory for People with Disabilities & Adults 50+ (PDF, February 2017) Don't know how to get where you want to go? Call CONNECT-A-RIDE for answers and assistance: 301-738-3252 (V) 703-323-6494 (V) Basically, few rides will be given during pandemic.
https://accessjca.org/connect-a-ride
E-mail: ConnectARide@AccessJCA.org
BUYING GOOD FOOD, GROCERIES, TAKEOUT, DINING OUT
• Teens Helping Seniors for contact-less grocery delivery
• Guide to reopened restaurants (Bethesda Magazine, 6-10-2020)
• Bethesda Streetery Beginning June 10, sections of Norfolk, Cordell, and Woodmont Avenues, as well as Veterans Park. These streets will be shut down to vehicular traffic, set up with socially-distanced tables and seats that will be cleaned after each use, and we'll be able to buy food from local restaurants and enjoy it right outside their doors.
• Local restaurants that are providing carryout and delivery (Bethesda Magazine, March 2020)<
• Guide to Montgomery County Farmers Markets (2018) It needs updating, to include the Chicano Sol Farm for its Saturday farm market in Garrett Park and its Sunday market in Dupont Circle.
• Groceries/Transportation in Montgomery County
• Grocery delivery (the ultimate pandemic lifeline) is falling short. Consumers are reporting weeks-long waits on Instacart, Shipt and other leading platforms as demand far outpaces the supply. Check with your local village to see if they have volunteers to help elderly shoppers, in particular.
Food shops:
• Tout de Sweet Pastry Shop (7831 Woodmont in Bethesda) SPourian: Wonderful pastries (single-size servings) on Woodmont Avenue. Near Fortunas, a custom leather & repair shop that does fantastic work, and across from Dawg House (hotdogs and sliders)
• Les Delices Bakery (1615 East Gude Drive Rockville, Maryland 20850, in the same shopping center as Sandy Spring Bank) Upik Djalins: Light and airy French layer cakes, single slices or entire cakes, and almond croissants "out of this world."
FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTY
For food assistance, call the Food Access Call Center at 311.
• Food Resources / Recursos Alimenticios
• Manna Food Center
• COVID-19: Local Food System Resources (Montgomery County Food Council) A fairly thorough guide to food assistance resources, grocery resources: online ordering, special hours, shopping support (SNAP, WIC), prepared meals, COVID resources, multilingual assistance in several languages)
• Multilingual info about food assistance programs
• Food Assistance Resource Directory (FARD) (Montgomery County)
• Capital Area Food Bank
• Mom's Meals A premade meal and meal kit delivery service for older adults. They’ve also produced a whitepaper on food insecurity relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
•Adventist Community Services food pantries
• Food Assistance Resource Map (Montgomery County Food Council)
•Pandemic EBT ((P-EBT) provides nutritional resources to families who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. Families will receive money on a new or existing EBT card to help fill the school meals gap. The average benefit will be $5.70/day per student, retroactive to when school initially closed.
Repairs, appliances, specialty shopping and assistance
• Willie's Shoe Repair Service at the backside of Wildwood Shopping Center (on Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda) Susan P. highly recommends. Side note: MOM's Organic Market recycles/repurposes old shoes that can't be donated for use. It also recycles things like used batteries.
• ApplianceLand "Amazing customer service and competitive prices."~Debbie C. (I had the same experience.)
• Carlos Auto Service Honest, reliable service at a fair price. Call (301)-897-0880 to schedule an appointment for vehicle repair or maintenance. 3960 Howard Ave., Kensington, MD 20895
• Swisco: The Replacement Hardware Authority Email: help@swisco.com. Telephone: 856-317-6263. Need help finding a part? Talk directly with one of their experts if, for example, your bifold metal closet doors aren't working.
RECYCLING and shredding
Old fabric etc. can be recycled at the Montgomery County Transfer Station off Rockville Pike just south of Shady Grove. (16101 Frederick Rd, Derwood, MD 20855, phone: (240) 777-0311). A map www. montgomerycountymd.gov/sws/ dropoff/site-map.html which shows exactly where you can drop off cloth/fabric as well as places for
electronics
toner and ink cartridges
building materials in useable condition
light bulbs
shredded paper (in paper bags)
and items in other categories
There is a link on that webpage that you can click to download a copy of the map and print it out. You need a car but this is an amazing place to get rid of stuff.
RECYCLING RESOURCES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD
(H/T Susan Pourian)
• Montgomery County Recycling Center
• Sorting It All Out. Learn how recyclable materials are sorted at Montgomery County, Maryland’s Recycling Center. (montgomerycountymd.gov)
• Aluminum & Bi-Metal Cans (Recycling Facty Sheet) This information is available in an alternate format by calling 240-777-6480.
• Mixesd Paper (Recycling Facty Sheet)
• Scrap Metal (Recycling Facty Sheet)
• Yard Trim (Recycling Facty Sheet)
• Montgomery County continues to recycle glass bottles and jars
• Yes, Montgomery County Recycles
• Let's Keep Our Recyclables Clean (My Green Montgomery)
• Out with the old electronics? Learn how to recycle them here! (My Green Montgomery)
• Is Plastic Recycling A Lie? Oil Companies Touted Recycling To Sell More Plastic : NPR (Laura Sullivan, Morning Edition, NPR, 9-11-2020)
• Recycling shredded paper (Do not bring in plastic bags!) What if I have too much paper to shred at home?
You may drop-off paper for free shredding at Clean Cut Shredding 14820 Southlawn Lane, Rockville, MD 20850 (7 am to 2 pm)
• How to recycle/dispose of cooking oil Residents of Montgomery County may bring up to 5 gallons of liquid cooking and vegetable oil to our Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station. Go to the Recycling area. Look for the vegetable oil container/tank. Pour in your vegetable oil. Do not mix it with other liquids or it won't be recyclable.
• Downsizing and decluttering
• Recycling "daily" stuff
• Selling, donating, or recycling books
• A Wider Circle (9159 Brookville Rd # C, Silver Spring, MD 20910)
• Interfaith Works Clothing Center (needs-qualified) on Parklawn in Rockville. Also has linens and small household items.
• MOM's Organic Market recycles/repurposes old shoes that can't be donated for use. It also recycles things like used batteries.
• Batteries Plus on Rockville Pike—just north (and other side of the street) of Best Buy has pickup service—my cordless phone battery had died. I was able to phone Batteries Plus and read, to the man who answered, the exact model of the battery that needed replacing. He told me to go online, and gave me the exact number/words that Batteries Plus uses for that battery. After placing the order, I was able to drive to the store—I did need to open the door, but not go in—I called out and gave him my name and he brought it to the door, masked, and gave the bag to me.
In addition to batteries they have light bulbs—that's where I purchased my LED bulbs that were more expensive but never get hot, so that, if I forget to turn one off in the back bedroom there is no danger of fire.
COMPOSTING INFO FROM MOM'S
If you don't have a compost service at home*, you can bring your compostable items, food scraps, etc. to MOM's all year round.
MOM's explains the compost cycle:
"1. Eat tasty food.
2. Throw food scraps in the compost bin at MOM's.
3. Microorganisms and critters like earthworms break down the food scraps.
4. Food scraps decompose into a nutrient-rich soil amendment which helps plants grow."
````Composting helps reduce your trash output and reduces landfills, trash burns, methane gasses and more. Put food waste back to work for the earth! *Compost Crew has weekly service at Parkside and a special rate for Parksiders of $20/month -- use the code PARKSIDECOMPOSTS at checkout and learn more about composting https://compostcrew.com
Learn about other ways to get involved from home to help protect and restore the environment via many of MOM's partnerships with groups including the Rock Creek Conservancy, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and more! Check it out! https://momsorganicmarket.com/get-involved-from-home/
• Toilet paper sustainability scorecard Plenty of competitively priced varieties of tissue with minimal impact on forests. The Issue With Tissue report’s scorecard assigns grades to all the major brands of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues, as well as popular house brands at leading supermarkets and brands that have adopted more sustainable practices. (National Resources Defense Council)
WHERE TO DONATE USED COMPUTERS AND OTHER ELECTRONICS
• Where to donate used computers in Montgomery County, MD (MontCo Libraries excellent list and links)
• Where to Donate or Recycle Electronics (EPA)
• Certified Electronics Recyclers
• Electronics Donation and Recycling (EPA)
• Cell Phones for Soldiers
• How to Find a Certified Recycler (EPA)
• Recycling electronics and other stuff
Potential sites for installation of small cell / 5G antennae
If you are interested in keeping up with where small cell / 5 G antennae are being considered for installation near your home, office, or schools in Montgomery County, here are useful links, including a database of application locations and an interactive map. (H/T Gerilee of Garrett Park)
Tower Committee Webpage. Find meeting agendas, location of site application presentations, an interactive map and summaries of Committee actions
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cable/Towers/home.html
From the home page you can navigate to these pages:
Facility locations (application database)
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cable/Towers/database_towers.html
Interactive map:
https://gis3.montgomerycountymd.gov/WirelessAntennasAndTowers/
VILLAGE ORGANIZATIONS
• Parkside Village website and resources (lots of useful links to resources!)
• Events calendar (hosted by Village at Kentlands and Lakelands, all MontCo village events can be listed)
• Villages in Montgomery County, Maryland (a map from HHS)
• Resources for Active and Developing Villages (Montgomery County, MD, HHS) MontCo has the most dynamic village coordinator in the country: Pazit Aviv. And Montgomery County surely has the most villages of any county in the country.
• Washington Area Village Exchange (WAVE) Villages in the DC metropolitan area (seems somewhat inactive)
• Village to Village Network (a national network)
ELECTION and HOME-OWNER INFO IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
• Voter search (where to find out if you are registered to vote, or vote by mail, in Maryland--if you aren't sure, this is where to find out.) You can use this site to
Review your voter registration record.
Request a duplicate voter registration card.
Find out where to vote.
Find out your voting districts.
Find out your local board of elections.
See the status of your mail-in or provisional ballot.
View your sample ballot.
• Voting Center Lookup Find your polling place.
• Real Property Data Search Search to find info about ownership of any given property (who owns, how much paid, etc.)
• Drop Box Locations in Maryland, 2020
• Rules and Information for Voters (and Rumor Control)
• Voters' Guide (for Nov. 3, 2020 election, League of Women Voters) Clear and unbiased. Consistently reliable. For ballot initiatives, the explanation of the question is always followed by an argument in support and an argument opposed.
• Maryland voting guide: What you need to know about dropboxes, early voting, mail-in ballots (Erin Cox, WaPo, 9-25-2020) Check the Post for updated info.
• Protecting the Vote: How Internet Platforms Are Addressing Election and Voter Suppression-Related Misinformation and Disinformation (Spandana Singh, Margerite Blase, New America, 9-30-2020)
• Homeowners' Property Tax Credit Program (Maryland Dept of Assessments and Taxation)
• Finding Your Property Information Online (Maryland Dept of Assessments and Taxation) You'll find links to many other types of information for Maryland.
THINGS TO DO WHILE SHELTERING IN PLACE
• 85+ things to do while sheltering in place
• Find a Little Free Library near you (wherever you are) This by no means links to all of them--just those that bothered to register.
• Montgomery County MD Library Databases Much material for looking things up or just reading online.
• 24/7 e-Resources (also MontCo Libraries). Under Movies, click on Acorn, IndieFlix, or Kanopy for free on-demand access to films, among many resources.
• Rec Room (Montgomery County Recreation) A virtual recreation hub for residents to enjoy from home. DIY arts & crafts, fitness videos, virtual classes, trips, tours and enjoyable recreational ideas for any age.
• Oasis Lifelong Learning Online Progamming
• Engage@HOME You Tube Channel (for caregivers) from Montgomery County Caregiver Support Program
• Suburban Hospital online programming
• Bringing Out the Best in Us During the Pandemic (Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director's Blog, 5-19-2020) The term “good neighbor” definitely applies to Pablo Vidal-Ribas Belil, a postdoctoral fellow at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Though Vidal-Ribas has his hands full caring for his 4-year-old son in their condo, which is located near NIH’s main campus in Bethesda, MD, he wasn’t too busy to notice that some of his neighbors were in need of help.
• Montgomery County Volunteer Center Find a volunteer opportunity.
THINGS TO DO OUTDOORS
• Maryland Dept of Natural Resources Links to lots of interesting outdoor stuff: Angler's log, boat registration, COMPASS Portal, Find a licensed tree expert, interactive maps, licensing and registration, Maryland fishing report, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Mobile App, online store, outdoor adventures, park and camping reservations, state tree nursery, tide finder, water access guide.
• AccessDNR Official mobile app for MD Dept of Natural Resources
• Parkside GREEN Nature and Wildlife at Parkside (Susan Pourian's brainchild. Lots of birds and deer. Pablo Vidal-Rivas Belil's photos in particular are stunning. Do these as a slide show and see the photos enlarged.)
• A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 1 (a two-part photo essay on Maryland’s DC-area suburbs, by Addison Del Mastro, on Strongtowns, 10-28-21) and Part 2