March is Social Work Month and at LiveOn NY, we celebrate our members who are essential to the work we do in making New York a better to age. Throughout the pandemic, social workers in the human services sector have been on the frontlines working tirelessly to ensure all New Yorkers have the support they need. Here are quotes from some of our members on what moved them to become social workers and their experience as an essential worker.
Today, LiveOn NY announced a partnership with the Reframing Aging Initiative, which is a multi-year strategy to counteract ageism and improve the way policymakers, stakeholders, and the public think about aging and older people.
LiveOn NY unequivocally opposes the continued, systemic attacks on older adults in need of assistance, namely low-income seniors, immigrants, communities of color and other marginalized populations.
At LiveOn NY, we work hard to make sure that the public hears about the issues affecting older New Yorkers, as well as the incredible momentum that exists as we grow old. To this aim, we are proud of each and every time we are able to share this narrative with the press and our local communities.
While much of the future appears uncertain, what’s clear is that these core services—nutrition, health, socialization, recreation, and education—will be more important than ever in the lives of a rapidly growing older adult population, particularly as we emerge from a global pandemic. Whether it be next month, next year, or next decade, we must ensure that these services are robustly available in every community throughout the five boroughs.
During COVID-19, food insecurity was deeply exacerbated by issues not only economic, but related to access as well, as seniors were advised to “stay home” to mitigate risk of contracting the virus. For example, Senior Centers, which offer nutritious meals to older adults across the state, were forced to close their doors virtually overnight. Recognizing that many of the individuals that received these daily meals relied on the food for more than half of their daily nutritional intake, localities and non-profits knew that stopping service altogether was not an option…
There is no denying that this was a difficult budget; and that once again, human and senior services were not given the full funding deserved. To that truth, we're clear: our work will continue, in deeper earnest than before. We thank all those who have joined us in this work and who continue to make their voice heard in an effort to make New York a better place to age.
Senior advocacy organization LiveOn NY has announced that it has coordinated the delivery of more than 225,000 meals to older New Yorkers to help fill the demand for food since COVID-19 began. These meals are in addition to the thousands of meals provided by the City and non-profits through the City’s nutrition programs such as the newly created GetFood effort.
