WASHINGTON, DC—On Tuesday, LiveOn NY, an advocacy organization for New York’s 4 million older adults, hosted a virtual press briefing to discuss the impacts of the federal “skinny” budget on older adult care and services. LiveOn NY Executive Director, Allison Nickerson, was joined by Eldra Drew, Participant of Lafayette Estates NORC Program at Neighborhood SHOPP in the Bronx and Jeremy Kaplan, the Executive Director, Encore Community Services.

“The federal skinny budget threatens all ways of life for Americans — but there is no question that it will disproportionately impact older adults, ripping away the services that their lives depend on. This isn’t just bad policy—it’s un-American. We are witnessing the dismantling of the very systems that working New Yorkers have paid into and relied on for decades. Older adults across New York State deserve more than abandonment,” said Allison Nickerson, LiveOn NY Executive Director. “LiveOn NY calls on all New York City, State, and Congressional leaders to fight back and defend the programs that are lifelines for older adults and families nationwide. Silence is not an option when lives, livelihoods, and dignity are at stake.”

“I’ve been with this center since I retired in 2010. The devastating budget cuts threaten the future of our neighborhood and the Lafayette Estates NORC Program, which provides critical services for us older adults and essential activities that support seniors' mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The vital staff support case management, advocacy, and care — this is the community environment that helps prevent isolation and promotes dignity, engagement, and independence for us older Americans,” said Eldra Drew, Participant of Lafayette Estates NORC Program at Neighborhood SHOPP in the Bronx.

“At one of our older adult centers, we have a case worker who works with an older man. He lives alone — he’s 80 years old, has macular degeneration, and is legally blind. He tells us this particular caseworker is his only social connection and is his only advocate,” said Jeremy Kaplan, Executive Director, Encore Community Services. “We have an active membership of 1000 older adults and two caseworkers for that membership, and those caseworkers are not funded by the city to make a living wage themselves. These issues — this problem that I’m laying out exist before the conversation about any federal cuts. These centers are already underfunded; we are only funded currently to give one meal a day, five days a week. Who knows what the ripple effect will be with how these cuts will impact people on the ground.”

FACT SHEET

Aging is already unaffordable. With skyrocketing housing costs and out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, long-term care gaps, and inadequate food assistance, older New Yorkers are already stretched to the breaking point. Federal cuts will only make this worse. If enacted, the federal budget would:

Cut Seniors’ Health Care Through Medicaid, through deep cuts to home and community-based care.
Cut Food Assistance Through SNAP, relied upon by thousands of older New Yorkers to make ends meet and afford food.
Reduce Access to Their Social Security Benefits through deep cuts in staffing, leaving older New Yorkers to wait for hours on call lines just to be disconnected.
Slashing the HUD budget and dismantling Section 202 affordable housing for seniors, handing it to state block grants with no guarantees or accountability.
Eliminate LIHEAP, leaving thousands of older New Yorkers without heating and cooling assistance during extreme weather.
Zero out the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, cutting off critical support for senior centers, NORCs, and housing.
Eliminate Title V Senior Employment, cutting off a vital re-entry path to the workforce for low-income older New Yorkers.
Abolish AmeriCorps Seniors, ending programs that reduce isolation and support community engagement.
Jeopardize Alzheimer’s Research, which will have unprecedented consequences for the millions of families who will face this devastating disease in the future.