Suzan Turley, left, of King City, recalls how Social Security helped her when she was widowed in 1971. Now she works as a volunteer with AARP's Shelley Buckingham on the You've Earned a Say initiative. — Photo by Toni Greaves

AARP volunteers are fanning out across Oregon over the next few months to collect the public's ideas for strengthening the nation's retirement and health care safety nets.

See also: How to tune-up Social Security.

Senior centers and service organizations such as Rotary International, Lions Clubs International and Kiwanis International are hosting more than 30 AARP Oregon You've Earned a Say listening sessions, seeking input on changes to Social Security and Medicare.

A town hall in southern Oregon will be televised Aug. 28 on KOBI in Medford from 7 to 8 p.m. and rebroadcast later on KLSR in Eugene and KTVZ in Bend.

Service groups needed

AARP Oregon needs more service groups around the state to host the sessions, said Joyce DeMonnin, public outreach director.

"AARP is trying to take the conversation about Social Security and Medicare out from behind closed doors in Washington, D.C., and … to take it to the people," DeMonnin said.

With 712,000 Social Security beneficiaries and 626,000 Medicare beneficiaries, Oregon has a voice that deserves to be heard by lawmakers, DeMonnin said. This is the largest community outreach effort AARP Oregon has ever undertaken, she said.

"People are very engaged in this topic," DeMonnin said. "They don't always agree on this. We want to listen to every one of their ideas."

Social Security is a crucial source of income for Oregonians. Nearly a fifth of Oregon beneficiaries rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income; half count on it for more than 50 percent of their income.

Social Security survivors benefits kept Suzan Turley from poverty when her husband's death left her a widow at age 29 with two young children and medical bills.

"Social Security saved me," said Turley, now 69. "It saved me from going on welfare. I didn't have to take on bankruptcy. I was able to pay my husband's hospital bills."

Now a part-time bank employee, Turley is retired from the state Department of Justice and draws Social Security retirement benefits. An AARP volunteer, Turley is speaking at You've Earned a Say presentations because she wants to protect Social Security and Medicare for future generations, including her two daughters and five grandchildren.

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