As a care manager for older adults in a Medi-Cal, Medicare funded county in California for over 5 years, I worked with adults 60 and older who had multiple complex mental health and medical needs. I helped them daily to access medical, physical, housing and legal and other supports and figured out many ways to overcome obstacles to accessing healthcare. I was also a representative payee for over 30 clients by managing their SSI. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and wrote this handbook in order to help people like you navigate a very difficult stage in life. This is a simple and clear, nuts and bolts guide to help ordinary people efficiently access resources and cut through all of the complicated red tape.