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.
As we work to get older New Yorkers back out into the community, it’s clear Older Adult Centers are hubs for socialization, diverse programming, and other critical services. The City has the opportunity to create long term solutions and make meaningful investments to ensure all New Yorkers have access to equitable community-based services in their community.
While the older adult population continues to be the fastest growing demographic, making up nearly 16% of the State’s population, the programs that support older New Yorkers remain chronically underfunded. Representative of this underfunding, last year the overall state budget grew by 3.1% in the Executive Budget, while the NYSOFA budget lagged behind overall growth, at 1.8%, despite the population it serves making up a larger and larger share of the overall population.
It is critical we address this crisis, as New York is aging rapidly and research shows that the majority of older adults would prefer the opportunity age in their community, surrounded by the networks of support built over a lifetime. Moreover, we’re all aging, and we all have a stake in ensuring there are affordable options to call home throughout the lifecourse.
