News & Updates
Today, that very program, GetFood, which laudably worked to keep thousands of New Yorkers fed throughout the pandemic, is poised to come to a close with preparations underway for clients to transition to alternative or existing meal programs by October 15th. For the more than 16,000 older adults still receiving meals through GetFood as of August, the success of this transition will be critical to their ability to remain nourished.
LiveOn NY and Hunter College’s Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging is proud to release Aging is Everyone’s Business: Policies for Building a New York for All Ages, a comprehensive policy agenda that seeks to inspire the City’s incoming elected leaders to make New York a better, more equitable place to age.
More than 90% of the homecare workforce are women, one in four individuals are immigrants, and more than 60% are individuals of color. Should these demographic trends continue within this rapidly expanding job market, a State decision to continue to provide low-wages to home care attendants would only serve to further engrain our deepest societal inequities, all but ensuring the likelihood of home care attendant’s living and aging into poverty. Therefore in addressing the home care wages and resulting shortage, New York will also be making an overdue step towards addressing both racial and gender wealth gaps, and building a more caring economy.
“These legislative wins are a signal of progress as we move towards a state where New Yorkers of all ages can grow old with the necessary legislation that supports everyone across the lifespan,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. “We hope to see these bills signed into law, and to then build on this progress to create a better New York for all ages.”
Many older New York rely on affordable senior housing with services to comfortably age in place. The need for affordable senior housing with services continues to rise with many older New Yorkers living on fixed incomes that cannot keep up with rising rent cost; experiencing mobility challenges that limit housing options within an aging rental-stock. In 2016, LiveOn NY found that an estimated 200,000 older adults were on waiting lists for housing through the HUD202 program in New York City.
