“Cash is the sincerest form of flattery” said Lazarus Long, the world’s oldest (fictional) man. I suppose all of my readers are pretty well set financially but I’ve been meaning to talk about something that came up at the TCUSD Health Fair at Temple City Park a few months ago. I shared my booth with the representative from NAMI. Since there was someone there to pass out my material I wandered a bit. One table that caught my attention, because of the nicer-than-most give-aways, was California Mentors. Sara, the young woman made many attempts to describe her program to passers-by but didn’t get much focused attention after folks got a cow shaped kitchen timer off her table. I thought her message was important, so I had her give a presentation to my group one night. What Mentors does is something that I think many seniors may find interesting. They place developmentally disabled adults in private homes. And they pay a tax exempt stipend to the home. It takes some training to be a mentor because the host home has to meet standards for safety and quality. The regional center which is responsible for the client’s benefits oversees the program. But the clients, who may be developmentally delayed by mental retardation, seizures or another condition often are gone to a vocational or day program through the day. They need a bedroom and meals and sometimes help with medicine or problem solving. They are not severely impaired and are screened for ability to live in the community with this level of support. Many older adults struggle with an empty nest. Many others struggle with an empty checking account. If you think your home may be able to accept another member, and if the stipend opens your mind to the possibility, you can e-mail Sara at sara.pollaro@thementornetwork.com or call her at 626-859-9109.