Elderly wait months for city-funded care
The pandemic has dramatically increased the number of elderly New Yorkers waiting for help from city-funded agencies — but it will be months before the residents get the services they need, advocates warn.
New data from LiveOn NY, a senior advocacy group, show that the number of older Big Apple residents waiting to receive everything from personal-care assistance to a lift to the supermarket has soared 265 percent, to 2,936 people, since February.
That figure — fueled by coronavirus fears over venturing out and budget cuts — comes from a survey completed by the 15 nonprofit organizations contracted by the city’s Department for the Aging to connect the elderly with needed services through case management, LiveOn NY told The Post.
“It just seems to be growing exponentially,” Allison Nickerson, LiveOn NY’s executive director, said of the wait for services. “It’s catastrophic to people’s lives. You have a virus that specifically is affecting older New Yorkers . . . and there’s been zero investment in trying to figure that out. In fact, there are cuts.’’
Case management is the gateway to senior services and is designed to keep the elderly stabilized and safely living at home so they can stay out of nursing homes and hospitals, which are bigger drains on public dollars and lead to a reduced quality of life, providers say.
“Somebody could possibly have to leave their home and go to some kind of supportive housing because they can’t change the linen on their bed, and that’s just mind boggling,’’ said Jolene Boden, case-management program director for Sunnyside Community Services.
Monserrate Arteca, 79, is currently on a waitlist through senior service provider Rise Boro Community Partnership to get help with housekeeping and personal care.
“I worry,’’ said Arteca, who lives in the Williamsburg Houses. “It’s a lot of stress.’’
Before the pandemic, many older New Yorkers such as Arteca relied on their families or local community groups for help, but those support systems have been stripped away, making them more reliant on cityfunded services, providers say.
In the city’s fiscal-year 2021 budget, the Department for the Aging has been cut by $33.1 million.
The Department for the Aging said, “The city is in an unprecedented financial and public health crisis that has impacted all city agencies and their respective budgets.
“While we have seen an increase in demand for services, DFTA’s casemanagement program is continuing to take on new clients. Everyone who calls to receive case-management services receives an intake over the phone and is connected to available services, and those with more urgent needs receive a full assessment.’’