Meeting Needs of Seniors is Vital
By Alfreda Williams | The Journal News | February 11, 2012
A recent Priority Pulse poll identified the five major needs seniors have in Westchester, and (in descending order) they are transportation, income security, affordable housing, home health-care services and property tax relief.
While caring for my mother, who passed away at the age of 99 a few years ago, I was acutely made aware of why seniors have expressed concerns regarding these needs.
My mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 15 years; her doctors said it was the slowest-progressing case they had ever seen. Maybe it was her long daily walk that my daughter and I insisted on that kept the disease at bay. But even as she advanced in age, my mother wanted to maintain her independence and did not move into a nursing home until the last five months of her life.
Getting around often meant my mother needed to rely on public transportation here in Westchester. Keeping the bus lines running enables seniors — and students, middle-class workers and many home health aides who are caring for seniors — to get where they need to go.
When an elected leader suggests saving money by eliminating a bus line, I always ask this: “When was the last time you needed to take the bus anywhere?”
Often, viable transportation poses a big problem when a visit to the doctor is called for, because there are usually few options otherwise.
Taxi service from one part of the county to another can be a financial hardship for people on limited and fixed-incomes. We heard this concern loud and clear at the Speak-Out.
The possibility of running into financial problems scares seniors, which is why they are naturally vexed by partisan calls to cut Social Security and both Medicare and Medicaid. Seniors want to live in dignity and not rely on financial help from others; having their own money to spend gives them a sense of pride and well-being.
Excessive health care costs and high property taxes remain the two biggest drains on savings and fixed-incomes, so efforts to combat these expenses need to be maintained and fully supported. The financial assistance that comes with the STAR program, for instance, may not seem like a lot of money to many Westchester homeowners, but to seniors it can be a real “make or break” amount.
Right now, the highest costing mandate for county government is Medicaid, and the reimbursement rates are set by New York State at the 2005 level. This “real cost” disparity is a huge one and needs to be addressed as quickly as possible for the sake of all our taxpayers.
The various programs offered by the county to help seniors stay in their homes, whether they are for foreclosure counseling, home health care or legal assistance, end up actually saving a tremendous of money in both the short and long run for government agencies. Downsizing and moving into smaller residences within or nearby communities in which seniors live is common in this region because of the high taxes — and it is an excellent argument for building more fair and affordable housing in Westchester.
I’ve seen the downsizing pattern quite a bit in the legislative district that I serve, and thankfully, there are more and more units as such available nearby. For seniors in other communities around Westchester, however, fair and affordable housing opportunities are scant.
Recently, the Board of Legislators began work on preparing the Joint Legislative Package, which is sent to the lawmakers in Albany and serves a general wish-list for program support and funding for Westchester County. Hearing from seniors at this point, then, was apropos.
But as Westchester’s baby boomers become more of the graying population here, the above issues will intensify, not diminish. We should be preparing and planning for them on a grand scale right now.
Shrugging off our responsibilities to seniors as “too costly” is unconscionable and likely to fray the cultural and sociological fabric that holds our communities together.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|