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NHCOA Promotes Leadership, Advocacy and Community-Driven Solutions at Miami Open Forum

Posted on by NHCOA Media

Participants’ ideas will be included in recommendations made to the upcoming White House Conference on Aging

Washington, DC—The National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), the leading national organization working to improve the lives of Hispanic older adults, their families, and caregivers, hosted its Miami Open Forum last week with more than 130 participants, which included Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, Miami-Dade county officials, congressional staffers, representatives from local NGOs and senior centers, NHCOA leaders, Hispanic older adults, family members, and caregivers.   

“Miami is a unique city with unique needs, especially among its older populations. And, beyond the needs, there is a real commitment to offering and being a part of the solution,” said Dr. Yanira Cruz. “NHCOA is proud to give Hispanic older adults in Miami, as well as key stakeholders, a microphone that will elevate their input and feedback to the national discourse.”

Mayor Tomás Regalado referred to the uniqueness of Miami and its residents, as well as the key issues that are impacting local Latino seniors that need to addressed at the federal level.

“One of the most important conversations we should have is regarding the issues of aging, health, dignity, and employment among older Americans. They should be able to be influential in their community, participate in the political process, and most importantly, have a voice,” said Mayor Regalado. “And, we as local government should do two things: recognize and value our senior citizens, and understand that older Americans like myself are capable of doing many things and achieving goals.”

Peter Wood, Vice President of Programs and Community Investment at the Health Foundation of South Florida, is also co-director of an initiative to make Miami-Dade County more senior friendly, especially in the areas of public transportation, housing, and public safety.

“We know that if we can achieve these improvements, people of all ages—not just older adults—will be benefitted,” said Mr. Wood. “The input from today’s meeting needs to be put into the hands of elected officials at levels of government so that we can ensure every community is a senior-friendly community.”

Michael Lu, Director of Public Housing and Community Development for Miami-Dade County, also expressed his commitment to working with the senior community living in public housing, and recognized the work of local advocate María Campos, a resident of Robert King High Tower, one of several public housing communities for Miami-Dade County’s older adults.

“One of the key things I have learned is that our senior population in public housing know many, many things and they can translate for us ways to reach the goal of living together, and ultimately creating an environment where everyone can have a dignified life in public housing,” Mr. Lu said.

The format for this year’s Open Forum was dynamic and solution-driven. The organization identified healthy aging and retirement security as key issues, based on data collected from previous years, as well as a recent survey conducted among Latino seniors in Miami.  Participants engaged in small group discussions, answering a specific question on topics assigned to each table such as health, paid sick leave, saving for retirement, health literacy, food insecurity, housing, and healthcare access. Each table also shard their suggestions with the entire group, allowing others to chime in and provide different perspectives.

“We will work together, we will volunteer, but we need to continue with the invaluable programs that have been serving seniors for many years,” said Selva Joseph from Senior Lift Center. “The government should not cut back on them.”

“I’d like Congress to fund the Older Americans Act, and to keep on funding it because people are suffering,” said Kathleen Sarmiento from the Alliance for Aging.

“Every community should have a place where they can go to voice their needs and concerns,” said NHCOA Leader Roxana Iraola. “This group can then to go to the local agencies and government officials to convey this information and address it accordingly.”

The input is being analyzed for inclusion in NHCOA’s recommendations to the White House Conference on Aging in July.  In addition to the suggestions, success stories that demonstrate the importance of working with local officials to address local problems were also highlighted.

“For more than 10 years the residents at Robert King High Towers have advocated for the basic needs: security, air conditioning, lighting,” said María Campos, “It wasn’t until the new housing director (Mr. Michael Lu) came in September that these needs were resolved. This happened because we worked as a team and because we received support and guidance from NHCOA. Today we are proud to say that our basic needs have been met because we didn’t stop advocating until the change we needed happened.”

This year is of great significance for the country and the field of aging as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80th anniversary of Social Security. It also marks the first time this decade that we celebrate the White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), a catalyst for the development of aging policy since 1961. All of these events set the stage for this year’s Miami Open Forum, creating a renewed sense of urgency surrounding aging issues and an opportunity to represent the voice of Hispanic older adults across the country.

The 2015 Miami Open Forum is underwritten by Abbvie, Aetna Foundation, the John A. Hartford Foundation, Lilly, the Office Of Minority Health, PhRMA, Pfizer, Univision and Verizon.

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NOTE: For high-resolution photos from NHCOA’s Miami Open Forum please e-mail mlane@nhcoa.org. 

The Significance of Social Security at 79

Posted on by NHCOA Media

Social Security is important to all communities, including Latinos who depend on this social insurance program to make ends meet month after month. What would happen if Social Security didn’t exist?

More than half of all U.S. older adults would live in poverty. 

 

This means that about 1 in 2 seniors is economically insecure, making difficult choices to somehow meet their basic needs. Most times, however, they fall short. They are forced to make unthinkable decisions, sacrificing one basic need to meet another. Older Americans should not have to choose between eating a meal and paying for a dose of medication, but that is the reality many of our seniors face on a daily basis.

For the last several years NHCOA has traveled to different regions of the country with high populations of Hispanic older adults to listen to their stories, which we then use in Washington to advocate on their behalf.

 

Almost all of the stories we hear from Hispanic older adults on these listening tours are related to economic security— or rather, lack thereof. 

 

According to the Social Security Administration, Hispanics have lower median earnings because they tend to work in lower paying jobs:

  • In 2012, the average annual Social Security income received by Hispanic men 65 years and older was $13,295, and for women it was $10,500.
  • In 2012, among Hispanics receiving Social Security, 40% of elderly married couples and 62 percent of elderly unmarried persons relied on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.

How does this data translate into real-world situations? Here is one story from our Los Angeles Promoting Communities of Success Regional Meeting in 2013:

I earn $400 in Social Security and $400 for supplemental. But I pay more than $600 in rent… [and] I have to pay for other bills and food is expensive. I also have to pay for medicines. If Social Security is cut, are we going to end up in the streets?  – Ana Margarita

As we celebrate the 79th year of Social Security’s existence, let it serve as a reminder of its significance to millions of seniors, disabled persons, and families across the country and may we never forget the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the signing of the Social Security Act in 1935:

“This law represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means completed… a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Message from Dr. Cruz: Happy Holidays and Thank You for Your Support!

Posted on by NHCOA Media

By Dr. Yanira Cruz, President and CEO

As 2012 comes to a close, NHCOA would like to take the time to reflect on the accomplishments achieved, as well as express deep gratitude for our supporters who have made these successes possible. The new demographic reality we face has presented opportunities for both improvement and growth, especially for Latino seniors. In leveraging these opportunities for growth, the year 2012 has been remarkable in so many ways. These successes position NHCOA and its critical mission for increased success in 2013. Further, each accomplishment we have experienced this year is tied to an underlying hope and a sense of unity, commitment, and passion through your collective affiliation to NHCOA. 

This year, we can start by pointing to the powerful movement to develop leadership and empower communities across the country through the 2012 Promoting Communities of Success Regional Meetings. NHCOA met with more than 500 Hispanic older adults, their families, and caregivers to take a solid pulse of the community, carefully listening to their specific needs and concerns. Older adults were empowered to talk about the problems they faced, but more importantly, to be an active part of the solution.

This was also a groundbreaking year for the expansion of the NHCOA Leaders Network. We hosted four Empowerment and Civic Engagement Trainings (ECET) in different parts of the country, training nearly 200 additional local leaders to become their own best advocates. These newest ECET leaders received 1.3 CEUs (continuing education units) from the University of Texas-San Antonio, adding a more meaningful dimension to this interactive and dynamic training. Throughout this effort, NHCOA has been able to train more than 800 grassroots leaders across the country over a three-year period.

In addition, remarkable accomplishments were met from the public policy standpoint. The Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC), which NHCOA co-founded, developed the first national report on the status of diverse older adults and presented it at a Capitol Hill briefing in July. This is the first report of its kind, showing the importance of working together to positively impact diverse communities in need. NHCOA also worked closely with office of Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) to craft an amendment to the Older Americans Act, which includes language to improve states’ and communities’ ability to better serve diverse older adults with culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

As NHCOA sought to advocate for viable solutions, the organization spearheaded research in 2012 on issues specifically related to Latino aging, including a needs assessment for Hispanic LGBT older adults, a study related to Alzheimer’s Disease and Latino caregivers, and an updated version of the organization’s State of Hispanic Older Adults report, which was launched during the NHCOA 2012 National Summit in October. The National Summit is the annual leading information sharing and networking event, which convenes professionals, advocates, policy makers, and Hispanic community leaders to better understand the needs and concerns of Latino seniors and Hispanic families.

Additionally, NHCOA reached millions of Hispanic older adults, their families, and caregivers with critical information to improve their well-being through programmatic efforts, which included preventing Medicare fraud through the National Hispanic SMP, a program sponsored by the Administration on Aging to help Latino seniors fight Medicare fraud within their communities. NHCOA also promoted the importance of getting vaccinated through Vacunémonos (Let’s Get Vaccinated), a community intervention sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to boost the rates of immunization among Hispanic older adults; raised awareness on HIV prevention through the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, a CDC program to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in diverse communities; empowered seniors to live healthy lifestyles through Salud y Bienestar (Health and Well-Being), a program to prevent and/or control diabetes sponsored by the Walmart Foundation; and mobilized Latino workers and older adults to advocate for and raise awareness regarding paid family leave laws.

NHCOA has many things to be grateful for this year, especially your support. With your vision, commitment, and passion, NHCOA can achieve the impact and influence to fulfill its important mission. As we look toward the future, we thank you in advance for your support as we continue to work together on behalf of the Latino seniors we cherish and serve. While the road to better outcomes and increased successes will require great effort, I trust our collective perseverance will allow us to work toward a stronger, golden America for all older adults.