Hello world, welcome to WFHR's Rapids Report for this July 25th, 2025.
Want to thank our sponsors, Croc Ceptic for sponsoring the time for us to be able to
hang out with our good friends over at the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central
Wisconsin.
We have Casey Neumuth with us.
Casey, good to see you.
Thank you for having us.
It's always nice to talk with our ADRC.
We appreciate all the work that you and that team over there put into our community.
And all the great things you guys are doing over there, where would you like to begin
today?
It's been a while since we hung out.
So where are we going?
It has been, yeah.
So I think maybe let's just talk about who we serve.
I think sometimes people aren't quite sure what we do and who we serve.
But our goal is to promote choice and independence as well as help provide peace of mind and quality
of life.
And we do that through education and access to resources to those individuals and their
families in our four county region.
So we can help you discover your choices, rights, and create a plan for your future.
We serve adults aged 60 years of age and older, adults 18 years of age and older with intellectual,
developmental or physical disabilities, youth with disabilities that are transitioning
into adulthood and caregivers.
And our four county region includes Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon and Wood Counties.
When it comes to being able to, I think this is, you started off it and it's such a great
spot, Casey, because I saw this in my own family with my mom and dad when they got to this
age and they realized, oh, I, you know, I need to know some things that I don't know yet.
And being able to know right away, they were like, oh, well, I'll reach out to DVRC.
It wasn't even like a beat later that they realized that.
And for every family like that, that's wonderful.
But there are people out there that are curious or don't know.
And men, to have a resource like you guys available, because it's not just being able to
talk to a real person and that you guys are up on things way more than maybe your average
person might be, especially, you know, they don't give you a handbook necessarily when
you turn 60.
And hey, this is, you know, going to get you ready for 65 or what have you or whenever
you might be able to retire.
But more and more people are retiring either earlier or later or just not at the average
age that you might usually are in years past.
So all the more and from reason that they have a resource like this and in being honest
in a day and age where yes, you can jump on a computer and, you know, Google or anything.
That everybody feels comfortable doing that.
That everybody has access to that.
And even sometimes that information you get may not be as accurate as we would like.
And having a real person to talk to in town or in a town near you is so vital for our
community.
It really is important to work that you guys are doing there and that it is available.
But then we have to also make sure everybody knows about this.
So while we're doing a, I think you guys do a great job joining us and getting out there
in the community, all hands on deck, everybody.
You hear about this, you hear about the services available, make sure you tell your friends
and neighbors.
And as you're seeing, hey, this person's getting up there in age.
Maybe they should know about the services.
Right.
Yes, it is nice to have someone local that you can either come to the office or, you know,
give us a phone call and be able to ask any of those questions that you have.
You know, whether it's that you're looking for, you know, some community supports.
Maybe you're looking for information about benefits.
Maybe you're a support for a caregiver and you're looking for some support for yourself.
Those are all things that we can help you with and help you find those answers for, you
know, you have choices.
And I think a lot of times people don't realize that they have those choices.
And so we really work to help you discover those options and those resources that are available
so you can plan for your future.
You know, we, we listen to those concerns and we make sure that we answer your, your questions
fully.
And if we can't answer those, then we find someone that is able to answer those.
We just really want to meet your individual needs and where you're at at that time.
And while we're talking with somebody and we're talking here in Wisconsin Rapids, you mentioned
earlier, you guys reach a big wide area, no matter where you're listening to us in most
of our listening area, you guys are able to help.
Correct.
Yep.
Yep.
We are a four county region, which is unique for some ADRC's, not all, but, you know, we
have staff and offices and all of our locations.
And so even if you, you know, have friends or family that maybe aren't located in wood
county or located in another county that's close by, we can help you find those.
And even if you're not in those counties, we can get you the information to who you
would reach out to at those counties.
So we just want to make sure that you are getting the best service possible.
And all of your questions answered.
I know our audience.
So I know that there's for, you know, people out there that are hearing this, thinking
about it and I, well, I don't know if they can help me with my question.
I got a difficult one.
I got a tough one.
You go ahead and hit them with your best shot.
You got to give them bring them because these guys are up to date on everything.
And honestly, one of the things too that I really appreciate is if you don't know
something, you're going to hunt it down with them.
You're going to find it out with them.
You guys want to know as much as the client does and being there for them.
So it's not only that is available for you, but just knowing that that's there.
I know one of the things that was comforting for my mom and dad when I saw instant relief
in their faces was just even the idea that they knew where to go and that the resources
were there.
It's not to say that we don't want you to use the resources, but I think just even having
this in town and people knowing about it, I can say I'm a ways away from this, but
I'm closer to it than I'm not, and just knowing that I have somewhere to go with questions
is such a comfort, even in my 40s, I will say.
So I don't know.
I can only imagine the amount of times that you have somebody come by and forever person
that's really happy to see you guys might be surprised to see you guys in the services
that are available.
I appreciate being able to touch on this.
So anything else about that that you wanted to cover?
No, I think what we just tell people is, you know, you've certainly planned for what
your life may look like or what you want it to look like, but, you know, things pop
up, things happen and, you know, you don't get to plan and that's the unfortunate part
or maybe the fortunate part, but it's always good to try to plan as early as possible and
have all the information as early as possible.
And that way if things change or if things maybe don't go that direction, you know, you
can plan for that and you can, you know, have, have it veer off and feel okay with that
because you have all the information that that you need to be successful.
You know, this is these services and so much that's available over there is certainly
about retirement, but not just people retired.
We're talking people that still have to work into a later age, which there's plenty
of our community and people in just in general that are having to more and more and also
people that are looking or maybe volunteering and doing some things like that.
But it's also just a great place to go for services and programs available.
There's so many things that we don't want to keep Casey here all day so we can't get
into every single thing.
You've got a busy job.
You've got a lot of things to do.
But I don't want to miss past that the resources that are available over there and the different
programs that are available.
There are so many different things and while we don't have to touch on all of them, I
don't know if you want to just kind of go over a couple of things for people and remind
them that these are available.
Yeah.
We do have some classes coming up in Wood County that people find, you know, very helpful.
One of the really popular classes is called a Healthy Living Class through our Stepping
Non Program.
So this is an interactive program for adults 60 and older who have fallen or maybe have
a fear of falling.
You know, sometimes you think, oh, I'm never going to fall or, you know, especially if
it's, you know, nice outside and there's no ice, but falling can be, you know, just a
really big problem.
It can cause a lot of issues for someone, whether it's a small fall or a big fall.
So this class has local experts and trained leaders that work on ways to reduce your
falls and just hope you gain some self confidence.
This class meets once a week starting on Fridays from September 12th through October 24th
at the South County YMCA.
So if this is something that you're interested in or you want more information and you can
call us at our 800 number, that is 888-486-9545, another very popular class that we have
coming up as well as managing caregiver stress.
As a caregiver, it can certainly be rewarding, but it can also be very overwhelming and we
always stress that as a caregiver, it's very important to take care of yourself first.
If you're not taking care of yourself, how are you able to provide for the person that
you're caring for?
So this class is designed to help you care for another adult and learn about relaxation
and stress reduction skills that while you're focusing on self-care strategies.
So this class is just a one short, one hour class that meets September 4th at 10 AM at
our Wisconsin Rapids ADRC.
So again, if that is something that you would like to register for or want more information
for, I can give you that number again, that is 888-486-9545.
I appreciate you mentioning those, Casey.
And while those are great programs, there are other ones that are available too.
And if you're listening to this and you're like, well, I didn't hear anything mentioned
about this.
And you think there's a topic that would be really good to be covered.
Feel free to reach out and let the ADRC know.
Some of these programs didn't always exist.
They came about from the ADRC seeing a need for it and, hey, we should definitely do something
like this.
And all the things that we're talking about today, whether you are getting into retirement
or you are 20 years away from it or what have you, one of the main things that she's brought
up, I think, is really key to hit on again.
And that's, it's never too early to get on these things.
And everybody, whether you have to work or you're going into retirement, you deserve to
enjoy the latter half, the second half of your life or whatever you want to look at it
as, the twilight years, all these verbs in terms we use.
You deserve it.
Every single person out there listening deserves that.
The sooner you take care of these things, the sooner you can check these off the list,
the quicker you are to be able to just enjoy life and just be able to do your thing or
focus on work or whatever you're doing with your day to day.
Right.
Yep.
That's definitely for sure.
Another thing that people also don't realize is maybe when they do retire that they're
not quite done working yet, maybe they're done working a stressful job, but they might
want to look into volunteering.
Our organization, we are so thankful and thrive off our volunteers.
And there's so many different ways that you can volunteer, and if that is something that
you're interested in, some of those may look like meals on wheels, so maybe delivering
a hot meal to someone in the community.
Maybe packaging those meals for our senior dining sites, so helping put those together.
And then seniors can meet at the Centralia Center and have a meal there and some community
involvement in your preparing those meals for them.
So if that is ever something that you're interested in, that's just kind of the tip of the
iceberg for volunteering.
We're willing to work with you in your schedule and as little time or as much time as you
want to.
You know, anything that you're willing to provide.
Meas on wheels is not only a really easier way to volunteer and do things in our community.
It's such a, it's not a big time commitment, but it's also, they work with your, not just
your schedule, but your routine or where you are in town or trying to find things close
to your home or your business or your job or what have you.
So they work with you even on that level.
And as somebody who did this over 10 years ago, I can still, is every time you guys join
us and bring this up.
I immediately go back to like the first house I went to and dropping off a meal and the
gentleman that I got to be friends with and stuff.
And I'm so thankful for those moments.
I feel I'm just as thankful, maybe even more thankful than the persons receiving the meals
and stuff.
It's a great opportunity to not only do that, but also checking in on our friends and
our neighbors out there, making sure they're doing okay.
And one to remind everybody, if you need these services as well to reach out to DDRC.
And certainly, if you can volunteer, we could use as many people as possible.
You can't have too many people a part of this program.
There are also preparing meals that is another way to volunteer.
And there are other opportunities with the ADRC to volunteer.
Encourage you to find out more about those and some of the other programs available.
Casey, do we cover everything?
Or did you have anything else to add to touch on?
No, I think just the last thing that will bring up since we're still in the summer
months is that we still have our senior farmers market vouchers.
So that is an excellent way to be able to provide a $25 voucher to eligible seniors
that can buy fresh fruits and vegetables from approved markets and stands in the area.
And so there is a form that you can complete online.
Or you can go to our website at www.adrc-cw.org.
You can also stop into our office or feel free to give us a call.
We just want to make sure that those that are eligible have this great opportunity to
be able to purchase the fresh fruits and vegetables that come in the summer or so.
I appreciate that.
I knew I had one thing I meant to mention.
I forgot to mention vouchers.
Thank you so much.
You are so good at this.
And it is so good to hang out with you again.
Thanks so much for being with us, Casey.
Yes.
Thank you very much for having us.
We always appreciate it.
You can find out more of those information that she gave us there.
That phone number is 1-888-486-9545, that's 1-888-486-9545.
Or you can go to www.adrc-cw.org.
You can find out more at their website.
Encourage you to do so.
Everybody bookmark that page and share it with your friends and family and people that
you know could use it as well.
Follow them on social media.
It's a great way to keep up to date and all the great things they are doing.
And again, Casey, say hi to the team over there for us.
We'll do thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Thank you everybody for joining us for another edition of WFHR's Rapid Support, probably
brought to you by Crockett Scepter.
