BWICA
Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council on Aging
Grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of seniors in Brooklyn.
Join us on December 16 for our Holiday Meeting! Register today
November 18th Meeting - View the presentation on Senior Isolation & Loneliness – Its Impact & What to Do.
Ronald Fatoullah, Esq. - Elder Law Attorney, PP Presentation HERE
Ron E. Roel - Professional Journalist & Author, PP Presentation HERE
October Health Care Forum on October 28, you can view our speaker's presentations below:
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Changes to Medicare Part D; Eric Hausman; Medicare Policy Expert
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CMS Health Campaigns for 2020; Thomas Bane; Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Medicaid Updates-Changes in the Current System; Valerie Bogart, Esq.; Director, Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program
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Medicare Fraud and the Annual Enrollment Period; Leslie Sierra; Outreach Counselor, NY StateWide Senior Action Council.
If you missed our meeting on 9/16, Presenter: Laura Quigg, Co-Chair, Voter Services Committee League of Women Voters NYC. View the Powerpoint Presentation
August 26th: View the notes from our speaker Chai Jindasurat, Policy Director, Nonprofit New York HERE
Topic: Advocacy Updates at the City, State and Federal Levels
August 5th: View a presentation from our speaker Elana Kieffer, Program Officer, Healthy Aging, Community Partnerships and Policy Solutions, NY Academy of Medicine. Powerpoint Presentation - Age Friendly Brooklyn
The New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) has published the 2021-2022 Annual Plan Summary
This Plan provides a valuable opportunity for the Department to share its goals, objectives, and program planning with the aging network. Due to COVID 19, no public hearings will be held this year. However, DFTA encourages consumers, community partners, advocates, and other interested parties to comment on the Plan or submit testimony on other issues that impact New York City’s older adults via email at:
All comments must be received by Monday, November 30, 2020
The NYC Department for the Aging welcomes your input and values your expertise.
Stakeholder Input.
NY StateWide Senior Action Council's 2020 Convention is now available to view online. Visit their website at nysenior.org for all of the recordings and powerpoint presentations.
Convention Highlights:
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Interesting panels on emerging issues culminating in a panel featuring NYS legislators who Chair the Aging & Health Committees.
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Benefits updates and discussions - are nursing homes safe, what can be done to promote access to quality health care and minimize health care disparities, how to avoid scams and how to preserve Social Security and Medicare for generations to come.
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Keynote speakers on how to discern "fake news" and know what sources, like StateWide are good resources, and hear from Mary Bassett, MD, former NYC Health Commissioner and an esteemed scholar on health care disparities.
PAST EVENTS
We Need These Funds
to be Restored!
Breaking Bread, Building Bonds. Fighting Hate, One Meal at a Time
A new initiative from BBP Eric Adams intended to bring all communities together to unite us by shared commonalities and building the bonds we need to peaceably heal our communities. If you would like to be a participate or host for these dinners, please register for BBBB.
Friendly VOICES: Building Friendships, Addressing Social Isolation
A NYC Department For The Aging Program
Friendly VOICES (Virtual Opportunities Improving Connections with ElderS) is a program that provides friendship and social engagement for Older Adults through one-on-one relationships and small groups.
DFTA identifies older adults, recruits and screens volunteers, and provides training and ongoing support to volunteers and clients to ensure engagements are rewarding to both parties.
Friendly VOICES is an important resource to help relieve the social isolation experienced by many older adults. Connecting
with an older adult is an enriching experience for volunteers. Many relationships are sustained over many years and can provide ongoing companionship for both older adults and volunteers.
For more information, please review the following documents:
Questions? Contact: Katherine Kim; Friendly VOICES Coordinator
Tel: (212) 602-7777; Email:
NYC Department for the Aging
If you missed our Webinar with Executive Director Maria Alvarez and Attorney General Letitia James, you can view a recording of the event. Just click on the button below and it will link you to our Facebook page with a video of the conversation.
TAKE ACTION!
BOROUGH PRESIDENT DISCRETIONARY FUNDING ELIMINATED FOR FY 2021. PROMISES FOR SENIOR CENTER FUNDING EXCLUDED
CALL Your Elected Officials:
Click HERE for the MESSAGE to use when calling your Elected Officials!
NOTICES
Brooklyn Public Library: Fall Virtual Programming for Older Adults
Services for Older Adults at BPL offers inclusive programming and services tailored to patrons over the age of 50, including lectures, films, performances and educational programs that reflect the wide interests of today’s older adults. Please click HERE for their virtual schedule.
When the first American deaths were reported in Seattle nursing homes, I feared the worst. We knew that COVID-19 would most threaten the lives of seniors and people in congregate settings.
NEWS
Commentary: Fund Long-Term Care Options by Maria Alvarez
With an average age of 83 for seniors in New York’s nursing homes, it should not have taken much for state officials to recognize the potential unfolding disaster before them that would heavily impact older residents and those who are Black and Latinx. Continue article HERE
TImes Union, 8/25/20
The New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), in partnership with BellAge, Inc., and the Association on Aging in New York (AgingNY) has announced the launch of CV19 CheckUp in New York State, a free, anonymous, personalized online tool that evaluates an individual’s risks associated with COVID-19 based on their life situation and individual behavior and provides recommendations and resources to reduce those risks. Continue article HERE
Why Black Aging Matters, Too.
Old. Chronically ill. Black.
People who fit this description are more likely to die from COVID-19 than any other group in the country.
They are perishing quietly, out of sight, in homes and apartment buildings, senior housing complexes, nursing homes and hospitals, disproportionately poor, frail and ill, after enduring a lifetime of racism and its attendant adverse health effects.
Yet, older Black Americans have received little attention as protesters proclaim that Black Lives Matter and experts churn out studies about the coronavirus. Continue article HERE
Kaiser Health News, 9/1/20
BWICA
Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council on Aging
5901 13th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11219-4935