Some 8.9 percent of La Crescenta-Montrose’s population is made up of senior citizens, according to the 2000 U.S. Census: That’s about 2,064 residents in our neighborhood who are over 65. Some are our parents or grandparents, others are our customers or the people we pass as we stroll through the Shopping Park.

ASTER--Assisting Seniors Through Enhanced Resources--is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide resources to senior citizens and their families, which are limited in the La Crescenta area.

Short-term goals include creating a Web-based directory of vetted business and services available to seniors and their families, a quarterly speaker series and a senior health fair. Long-term goals include creating a phone number that seniors can call for assistance and, eventually, a senior center on Foothill Boulevard.

Though ASTER was formed over a year ago, the group is still working to achieve these goals. The biggest challenge they face right now is recruiting new members who can provide services to seniors.

“We are looking for members who provide a trustworthy service,” said ASTER President Jeff Friedman. People who can provide trade services--such as a plumber or electrician-- and a nutritionist are high on Friedman’s list of wanted members.

“You don’t have be in healthcare to be a member,” said ASTER Vice President Robbyn Battles. “Our members will help us put together our speaker panel and the goals on our wish list. We need all kinds of contractors.”

Friedman said that anyone is welcome to come to the board with his or her services, especially “someone who will put in that extra effort, be the eyes and ears for these folks and commit to this mission. We are pretty wide open to the types of services.”

“We need people to have a passion for seniors to be members in ASTER,” said Battles.

Friedman is the founder of the nonprofit group MAPS, which caters to seniors in the San Fernando Valley. He also has personal ties to the senior community. “My mother’s in a wheelchair and people yell at her. It’s ignorance. People think [seniors] are stupid because they’re in a wheelchair. It’s countrywide and it’s a societal issue.”

Battles also has first-hand experience with the tumultuous experience of caring for aging parents facing medical issues. Battles’ father is a senior who is currently battling bone cancer, and two years ago her mother had a stroke.

“We should embrace and honor our seniors, we shouldn’t dismiss them. I see people do that to my dad, and it infuriates me,” said Battles.

“I have seen neglect, I have seen abuse and I have seen a vulnerable set of people who could be taken advantage of,” said Friedman. “We want to hopefully be a place where seniors can go and be safe and have a trusted voice in the community.”

Membership is $225 a year and will be tax-deductible once ASTER’s 503(c)(3) status is approved by the IRS.

For more information about ASTER’s mission and membership, visit www.theaster.org.