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.
158 organizations that provide services to older New Yorkers and their caregivers are calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to address in his next state budget proposal a growing waiting list of more than 11,000 older New Yorkers who qualify for but are not receiving vital services such as home-delivered meals, home care, and case management.
While the presidential elections may have ended, New York City is quickly approaching a pivotal 2021 election to fill NYC’s top elected offices. In preparation, senior advocacy organization LiveOn NY hosted two virtual listening sessions for older New Yorkers to hear the most pressing age related issues, incoming elected officials need to address.
Further, providers are tired of being promised funding, like through the ICR initiative, that never comes to fruition. For aging service providers, this is the third unfulfilled promise from this Administration: Senior Centers were also promised $10 million through the City’s Model Budget process for much needed raises for staff, that was inevitably reneged without a word, and were promised $5 million for Senior Center kitchen staff, that also went unfulfilled.
LiveOn NY was proud to join the New York Housing Conference led advocacy effort calling on the City to restore capital funding for the City’s affordable housing program in the FY21 budget. This #NoCapitalCuts Campaign brought together stakeholders from a broad spectrum of housing providers, including the Supportive Housing Network, NYSAFAH, Enterprise Community Partners, and more. The campaign also included sign ons from a number of LiveOn NY members, including, Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation, Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities, RiseBoro Community Partnership Inc., and Selfhelp Realty Group.
