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Human Services And Social Policy

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Creating partnerships that enable elderly Jews to age in place

A Naturally Occurring Retirement Com-munity (NORC) is a residential housing development whose population, over time, has grown older. Over the years, younger people move away to build lives elsewhere, while their aging parents remain.

Because many of these seniors want to age in place, the UJC Human Services and Social Policy (HSSP) Pillar and its Washington Action Office (WAO) are working to help communities bring important services to the homes of seniors.

In February 2003, UJC's Washington Action Office an-nounced that it had secured almost $6 million in federal funds to support partnerships between NORCs and social service agencies in order to provide integrated packages of health, housing and social services that will enable elderly people to age in place.

"The only thing I ask for my life now is that I can stay in my apartment," says Lottie Shapiro, an 82 year-old resident of Big 6 Towers in Woodside, New York—her home for 38 years, where she lived with her husband and where they raised their only son, Jeffrey. It's also where she sat shiva following Jeffrey's death in a car accident at age 32. Today, on a fixed income, Lottie lives alone with her memories and her indispensable motorized wheel chair, photographs of Jeffrey's wedding and graduation hanging on the walls. Thanks to a partnership between Insignia management, the company that runs Lottie's co-op, and Self Help Community Services Inc., an affiliate of UJA-Federation of New York, Lottie is able to remain in her home, active and independent.

Amost two years earlier, in spring of 2001, WAO devised a prototypical grant request that federations can use to approach their senators and House members, then tested the grant proposal with eight communities that had particular experience in serving NORCs and whose members of Congress were particularly well situated to help.

Through extensive, direct lobbying by WAO, and key contact and follow-up by the communities, five of those communities (Cleveland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis) shared the grant. Two more, New York and Detroit, received promises from one or more of their senators and representatives to work on behalf of the requests in fiscal year 2003. The eighth community, Miami, is now working on a coordinated joint request with other Southeast Florida federations, and has commitments from the Southeast Florida House Delegation and a pending request with a local senator. The HSSP Pillar is working with the recipient communities to implement the projects and measure the outcomes.

WAO also has developed the Continuum of Care in the 21st Century Action Guide to help communities plan and implement a successful program for elders. It's a flexible blueprint that covers the community planning process; essential contact information; profiles of successful programs; and public policy information.

By 2030, it's projected that 80 million seniors will need the assistance of community providers as well as federal and state agencies to meet their health and social needs. By developing innovative partnerships between NORCs and service providers now, UJC is at the head of the curve in responding to the rising demands with cost-effective solutions.

Annual Report table of contents:

Mobilizing Our Jewish Values | Annual Campaign | 9/11 Fund | Israel Emergency Campaign  Missions | Israel Overseas: Argentina | Planned Giving and Endowments | Renaissance and Renewal Alliance | Human Services And Social Policy | FedWeb |  How UJC Works