Last week, the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) held its second Regional Meeting as part of the “Promoting Communities of Success” regional meeting series in Miami, FL, featuring a two day Empowerment and Civic Engagement Training and a Community Forum. During these meetings, NHCOA is able to listen to the challenges that Hispanic communities across the country face and help them find solutions through training and empowering their local leaders to take action by making positive change a reality.

Dr. Yanira Cruz, NHCOA President and CEO, opened the forum by highlighting its significance: “We can read statistics in the newspaper about Hispanic older adults, but it doesn’t replace hearing their concerns directly…our open forum informs our report on the state of Latino seniors [“State of Hispanic Older Adults: An Analysis and Highlights from the Field”], which informs policy makers’ decisions.” She then welcomed participants to share by saying, “This is your moment and this is your time to have your voice heard and let us know what issues we will focus on this year…we cannot speak on your behalf, unless you speak first.” With these words of encouragement, Hispanic older adults, their families and caregivers, in addition to community leaders, providers and policy makers began to share their raw concerns on a variety of issues, including health, civic engagement and economic security.

Many older adults shared heartbreaking testimonies about their dire financial insecurity. When the topic of social security arose, padres y abuelitos (parents and grandparents) shared about going to bed hungry due to lack of money. Several told tear-stained stories about receiving their monthly social security checks and not having enough money left over to afford food after paying their rent and medical bills. One older woman shared that due to a food allergy she has to follow a special diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. However, the little money she has left from social security after paying her rent and bills is not sufficient to cover her dietary needs, as healthy foods are often more expensive than unhealthy alternatives. As a result, she said that she often goes to sleep hungry because she can’t afford to buy a piece a fruit. Unfortunately, her story was not unique. Countless other older adults echoed similar sentiments, but even one older adult going to bed hungry is too many. The truth that each older adult shared surmises exactly why NHCOA exists – to give back to our padres y abuelitos (parents and grandparents) and ensure that they are able to age with dignity and the best possible health in order to enjoy their golden years.

In response to this and other issues affecting the Hispanic population, NHCOA developed its signature Empowerment and Civic Engagement Training (ECET), which demystifies the public policy advocacy process. ECET consists of exercises that allow Hispanic older adults, their families and caregivers to discuss and practice advocacy techniques, as well as learn how to select issues for which to advocate. The first two days of the Regional Meeting were dedicated to training a new group of diverse, intergenerational leaders on how to tap into their talents to improve their communities. Hailing from Venezuela, Spain, Cuba, Honduras, the U.S. and several other Latin American countries, each local leader brought their own experiences and ideas, but shared the common quality of being committed to making positive changes in their communities. The training molded their leadership skills and assisted in turning their abstract ideas and commitment into action. At the end of the training they each made a promise to use their new knowledge to make a difference.

During the forum, NHCOA’s new cadre of local leaders listened attentively and passionately, united for a common cause: to help their older adults lead better lives. Several leaders expressed sadness at the stories of their older community members, but also shared a sense of hope in being able to create a better tomorrow for them by using the skills, tools and resources they learned during the training. Thanks to their energy, the forum ended with a note of optimism, as the focus shifted to sharing potential solutions, including civic engagement, community organizations, meetings, transparency and diversified programs for seniors. As an unexpected rallying cry, one caregiver exclaimed, “¡Si podemos! ¡Vamos a unir nuestras fuerzas y mostrar que si podemos!” (“Yes we can! Let’s join forces and show that we can!”)