The 34th Annual Conference on Aging, held in Manhattan, led by LiveOn NY, brought together more than 200 community organizations who agreed to loudly demand that Governor Kathy Hochul double, in the next 2025 state budget, the investment aimed at programs in favor of older adults.
The ambition of these defenders is to include an additional $250 million in vital programs for a population over 65 years of age, which between 2011 and 2021 increased by 21%. This account highlights that this demographic increase is concentrated in immigrant communities, which are also those that are most affected by poverty.
New York senior advocacy organizations in a large coalition will mobilize more than one hundred groups in the coming weeks to lobby against what they describe as “unprecedented cuts to senior services,” including $9.3 million for home care and $2.5 million for long-term care.
On February 15, a large demonstration will take place in Albany to put pressure on legislators and the state president to reverse what they consider a “cruel policy” of ignoring one of the most vulnerable groups in New York.
“As we face an anti-age budget in Albany, this year’s Conference on Aging could not be more urgent or important,” said Allison Nickerson, executive director of LiveON NY.
Millions harmed
The balance shown in several analysis tables was that 5 million older adults and 4 million caregivers in New York will be harmed by the state president’s latest budget project.
“The truth is we are not going to rest until we see a plan that addresses their needs, instead of leaving them aside,” Nickerson said.
In the case of the Big Apple, the fastest growing demographic is seniors, but more than 42% face poverty.
Faced with these discouraging prospects, Ryan A. Murray, program director of the New York City Office on Aging (NYC Aging) complained at this annual conference that the municipality continues to invest both in home services and in communities, but “funding from the federal and state governments has not increased, it has remained flat.”
Advocates will demand prioritizing funding for programs designed to allow New Yorkers to age at home. This means reinforcing investment in plans such as home-delivered meals, case management, home support services, benefits counseling and transportation.
The other great drama is that a large part of older adults find themselves on endless waiting lists, because investment in different programs tends to deflate.
Government: “We strengthen the programs”
For his part, Royer Noyes, a spokesperson for the New York State Office of the Elderly (NYSOFA), told El Diario that Governor Hochul’s fiscal year 2025 executive budget “expands and strengthens” basic services for this population. .
Noyes cited as an example a $2.9 million proposal to expand efforts to combat isolation, close the digital divide, improve overall health and well-being, support patients with depression and otherwise address the risk of abuse. of older people.
“We added $23 million in historic investments for older New Yorkers across the state waiting for services, bringing the amount invested to $122 million compared to 2018,” he added.
The state government spokesperson valued the efforts that will eliminate insulin co-payments for diabetic patients in the coming months and the increase in the affordable housing stock.
He added that an additional $3.4 million in Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) funds are being added for providers.
Immigrants age:
- 713,000 older immigrants lived in New York City in 2022 according to the data analysis platform Social Explorer cited by The New York Times.
- This population has increased by 57% compared to 2010. During that same period, the number of older residents born in the United States increased by 25 percent, which means 678,000 people.
- 6 are the countries from which the majority of immigrants who grew old in NYC come: Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, Haiti, Ecuador and Colombia