Seniors flood City Hall with letters

Seniors in danger of losing vital services due to budget cuts recently delivered 17,000 letters to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, urging him to reconsider.
The letters, written in English, Spanish and Chinese, were delivered at a December 14 press conference at City Hall.
“Getting 17,000 letters signed by the elderly is the senior equivalent of a video going viral,” said Bobbie Sackman, director of public policy at the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS). She said so many seniors wrote letters because they are often homebound and don’t want to be forgotten.
The budget for the Department for the Aging (DFTA) was cut 10 percent, almost $30 million, for fiscal year 2011. On top of these cuts is an additional mid year cut of $3.3 million. Because these are midyear changes to the budget it does not have to pass through a city council vote.
“Mayor Bloomberg says he supports age-friendly initiatives,” said Sackman. “But this is galloping in the wrong direction.”
These cuts can affect up to 8,000 seniors that depend on these services each day, according to a CSCS survey. There are also 800 seniors on the waiting list for assistance, illustrating an already stressed system prior to these new cuts.
The number of hours of home care services provided has also been cut almost 40 percent from fiscal year 2010.
Many of the elderly that rely on the assistance are immigrants who need help for the language and cultural barriers that may hinder their ability to pursue basic needs.
DFTA is working to restructure their services to minimize the affect the cuts may have on the elderly, said a DFTA spokesperson.
Part of the budget cuts may include laying off 110 social workers across the city.
These “trained eyes and ears” make sure their clients have everything they need, including food stamps, medical care and help prevent isolation and depression, said Sackman.
A spokesperson for DFTA said that it is premature to comment on any layoff estimates.
Linda Leest, the executive director of Services Now for Adult Persons (SNAP), spoke at the press conference and told the story of an elderly woman who was being “fiscally and physically abused” by her daughter and grandson. This was only discovered, she said, when the woman called for meals to be delivered and a social worker stopped by to do a cursory check. The woman is now “safe and happy living in an assisted living home.”
“If it wasn’t for the social worker, she would still be living in this incorrigible situation,” said Leest. “This is the kind of situation that may be missed now with these cuts.”