Citywide, workers at nonprofits under contract to provide support and essential services to New Yorkers at a time of unprecedented crisis say they feel overworked, overwhelmed and burnt out. As costs continue to increase around them, many have said their low wages make it difficult to justify staying in the sector, even with a recent pay bump from the city and state.
“We must ensure that New York City’s growing population of 1.25 million adults ages 65 and older can access high-quality services, resources, and opportunities that accommodate their needs and preferences, celebrate their strengths and resilience, and empower them to live in the communities they helped build and continue to make meaningful contributions to.”
The reality is that many older adults have already survived trauma—and those experiences carry so much wisdom, perspective, and resilience to share as a result. Investments to increase access to mental health support for seniors would go a long way.
‘We implore the new administration to seriously consider the Human Services Council #JustPay campaign, and ensure that all New York City contracted employees, who on a daily basis perform critical lifesaving work, make a living wage.’
Adi TalwarA late October afternoon bingo game in progress at the PSS King Towers Senior Center in Harlem. Our new mayor, administration, and city council have taken office at a challenging time for New York City—but especially for our city’s seniors. The latest wave of COVID-19 has continued to affect older New Yorkers at a disproportionate rate, causing hospitalization and death in worst cases, and leading to continued social isolation for many others. When our new elected representatives talk about COVID recovery, it’s imperative that they prioritize the needs of older New Yorkers. At Encore Community Services, we see these needs up close and work daily to keep seniors healthy, safe, and connected to community.
“People who do this work love it. You have to love working with people,” says State Assemblymember Karines Reyes, who is a nurse. But she adds, “If you can get a job doing work that’s not as heavy and not as demanding and make more money, why wouldn’t you?”
State guidelines and federal regulations mandate that home health aides working 24 hours at a client’s home get eight hours for sleep and three hours of meal breaks, all unpaid. But many workers say the rule routinely leads to underpayment because their patients actually need constant care, leaving the aides little time to sleep or take breaks.
‘More than 41 million Americans are also struggling with fewer resources while working as unpaid family caregivers for long, often undetermined, time periods. And at least one million of these caregivers are located in New York City.’
The reopening of the city’s senior centers this summer brought great joy and relief for many. But capacity restrictions remain in place, and staffers who work with older adults say they’re concerned about the ongoing impact the prolonged isolation may have had on members.
A Commonwealth Fund survey of 18,000 older residents across 10 different countries found that American seniors were more likely to have depleted their savings, lost income and gone without vital medical care during the pandemic.
City residents looking for alternatives to nursing home care, particularly those with limited incomes, confront an array of hurdles: lack of affordable housing, a shortage of safe and accessible apartments, not enough home health care aides and waiting lists at many programs.
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