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In 2008, the Committee held five Program Meetings.

February 8, 2008: Attended by 52 persons from 28 organizations.

Briefing on Housing & the Elderly Poor: Speaker: Jessica Walker, Policy Associate, New York Academy of Medicine.
A paper developed by the Committee showed statistically The Link between New York City’s Housing Crisis and its High Rate of Elder Poverty (copy available upon request). It contained statistics on: Elder Poverty in New York City; the Housing Situation as it relates to persons age 65 and older; older NYC Homeowners; older NYC Renters; Affordability and older New Yorkers; the Threat of Eviction; Ethnicity, elder poverty and housing; and finally, the Worsening Crisis in housing. Questions and comments from the audience confirmed some points in the paper: an increase seen at Adult Protective Services in eviction proceedings against those 65 and older; the huge number of applications for available units in senior housing; the increasing difficulty to get landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers; how extremely difficult it is to find affordable accessible housing.

Response to Issue of Housing and the Increasing Poverty Rate among NYC’s Elderly: Speaker: Rosie Mendez, Chair of the NYC Council Sub-committee on Public Housing.
Councilperson Mendez gave the background, research, and legislative process that led to the introduction of bill #648 on Provision of Legal Services in Eviction, Ejectment and Foreclosure Proceedings and described how low income, eligible seniors faced with eviction do not necessarily get legal representation because of the scarcity of resources. Although the estimated cost of this bill would be $10 million, the cost of shelters and health care in public hospitals, directly resulting from evictions and homelessness, would be far greater. Implications go beyond seniors, since many of the elderly being evicted have a partner or family evicted with them. The presentation educated the audience on the legislative process and related to the Committee’s efforts on elder poverty and housing.

March 7, 2008: Attended by 76 persons from 48 organizations.

Meeting with the Director of the New York State Office for the Aging (SOFA): Speaker: Michael Burgess, Director of the State Office of the Aging.
Mr. Burgess discussed the proposed executive NYS budget, in which Aging Services did well considering the state of the economy. Some exciting new initiatives, dedicated to keeping older New Yorkers in their homes and included in the budget, cover four areas: 1) support for caregivers; 2) counseling people on their options for long-term care, the “NY Connects” program; 3) non-medical community based services and assistance, like targeted EISEP; and 4) building livable communities, envisioning the future, not just “elder-friendly” but friendly for all populations. Details on these initiatives, as well as increases in programs such as SNAP, EISEP and CSE, were provided.

Enriched Model of Social Adult Day Services: Speaker: Kathy Fitzgibbons, Senior Policy Analyst of Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA).
Ms. Fitzgibbons reviewed the role of FPWA in advocacy efforts that led to the proposed Enriched Model of Social Adult Day Services in NYS, which was included in the executive budget for $1million in demonstration programs throughout the state. The goal is to provide innovative options for social adult day clients to keep them in programs longer, rather than premature placement in a medical program or nursing home. Services include—assistance with personal care, services from a registered nurse, as needed, physical and other types of therapy.

May 9, 2008: Attended by 49 persons from 34 organizations.

Aging and Vision Policy and Practice in New York City and New York State: A Panel Presentation. Presenters: Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Hunter College, Professor, Masters Degree Program with specialization in rehabilitation teaching and orientation and mobility for people who are visually impaired; Board Member, NYS AER; Board Member, NYVRA; Dr. Karen Gourgey, President, American Council of the Blind-NYC; Director of the Baruch College Computer Center for Visually Impaired People; Appointed member of the Executive Board to the NYS Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH); Nancy D. Miller, LMSW Executive Director, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired; President of NY Vision Rehabilitation Association (NYVRA); Alberta L. Orr, MSW Executive Director, Disabilities Network of NYC; Coordinator of DFTA's NYC Coalition on Vision and Aging; and Priscilla Wrobel, Director of Field Operations, NYS Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH).

The Panel gave statistics on the number of visually impaired older New Yorkers; problems in the education of professionals and the public about available services; and the consequences of the lack of trained personnel in adaptive living programs. Advocacy issues were also identified: licensing of vision rehabilitation specialists and getting the word out about prevention of blindness, vision loss among elders and services available; need for funding services for those not legally blind. Valuable information was imparted to those present including a free Masters Program at Hunter for rehabilitation teaching and orientation and mobility specialists.

October 17, 2008: Attended by 52 persons from 32 organizations.

The NYC Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) Poverty Measure and Older New Yorkers: Panelists: Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago, NYC Department for the Aging; Mark Levitan, Ph.D., Director of Poverty Measurement, NYC CEO; Ron Richter, NYC Family Services Coordinator.

The Panel explained why and how the City’s new Poverty Measure was constructed and its findings as they apply to older persons. Commissioner Mendez-Santiago also gave an update on DFTA programs that can assist poor seniors and what pending legislation, in light of the findings on elder poverty, the City is supporting to ameliorate poverty among older persons. Attendees had a chance to address the panel with their concerns and experiences with elders struggling to survive in these difficult economic times.

In keeping with our collaborative efforts, a joint meeting with Queens Interagency Council on Aging (QICA), and Queensboro Council for Social Welfare (QCSW), co-sponsored by the Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly (IPR/HE), was held on:

November 5, 2008: Attended by 75+ (estimate).

Seniors and Poverty: The effects of the economic downturn and city cutbacks. Programs available for relief. Seniors testified on how they are affected by current economic conditions. Presenters included: Maria Alvarez, Statewide Senior Action Council on Medical Care Costs and Prescription Drugs; Alexandra Yannias, Coordinator of Interfaith Voices Against Hunger, NYC Coalition Against Hunger on the high cost of food and access to services; Catherine Giblin, Director of the Assigned Counsel Project of DFTA on legal help with eviction; and Suleika Cabrera-Drinane, Executive Director of Institute for Puerto Rican and Hispanic Elderly, on Supplemental Security Income (SSI).