Public Policy

Dignity, respect, and care can’t wait

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This post originally appeared on the SAGE blog.

The Trump administration is giving businesses and medical providers a license to discriminate: to deny services to LGBT individuals based on religious or moral beliefs. In response, SAGE is enlisting the power of the LGBT community, its allies, and organizations who care for LGBT elders to take a stand in our Care Can’t Wait social media campaign.

SAGE acknowledges and thanks all the partner organizations who have taken the pledge and encourages others to join us in standing up for LGBT elders in the face of religious-based discrimination.

The.... Read More

             

Pains, Trains, and no Automobiles: Abu Sayeed’s Commute Highlights Transportation Difficulties for Elders in NYC

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This article originally appeared on the India Home blog.

Three mornings a week, Abu Sayeed, 64, wakes up in his home in Cyprus Hills in Brooklyn, NY, worrying about the subway. He wonders if he’ll manage get the right train. How long will he have to wait? As he gets ready for his long walk to the station – putting on a cap, a thick sweater, sports shoes – he worries if he’ll make it in time to catch the exercise class he loves so much at the Desi Senior Center in faraway Jamaica, Queens.

His journey begins at the Cypress Hills subway station in Brooklyn where he catches the J train to the.... Read More

             

SAGE Expresses Concern Over Narrow Ruling in Favor of Colorado Baker

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Today, the Supreme Court ruled narrowly in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to provide a wedding cake to a gay couple. But the court also refused to create a license to discriminate and made it clear that civil rights laws still bar discrimination in businesses open to the public.

While narrow, today’s ruling is nonetheless of particular concern to LGBT elders, who are already at higher risk of discrimination when accessing aging services and long-term care, the vast majority of which are provided by religiously affiliated institutions.

“We at SAGE have always known that the fight to end discrimination against LGBT people would be fought for years to come,” said SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “While we are concerned.... Read More

             

Finding Housing When Mom Doesn’t Speak English

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by Debbie Swanson. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

Finding assisted living or nursing care for a parent is never easy. The situation is further complicated when the individual in question is not fluent in English because he or she either never became totally versed in the language or aging has introduced difficulties.

“Patients with dementia often revert to their mother language,” explains Dr. Ivan Merkelj, medical director for Palm Beach PACE at MorseLife Health Systems. “The part of the brain that stores a learned language is different than the mother language, and they feel more comfortable with their.... Read More

             

Linh’s Story: An American Success Story Made Possible by Family-Based Immigration

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by Linh Chuong. This post originally appeared on the SEARAC blog.

In 1986, my dad was forced to flee Vietnam because of persecution. He came to the United States as a refugee and was relocated to Oakland along with my three older brothers. As a child, I remained in Vietnam with my mother and three siblings, and my father filed paperwork to bring the rest of my family to the United States so we could be together again. We spent almost a decade apart before we were reunited as a family in East Oakland eight years later.

Our first.... Read More

             

NAPCA Celebrates the Arrival of Older Americans Month and AAPI Heritage Month

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Why is the month of May such an exciting month for us at the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA)? Not only is May designated by the Administration on Aging (AoA), part of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) as Older Americans Month (OAM), but Congress also designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM).

NAPCA is the only national organization with a sole focus on Asian American and Pacific Islander American (AAPI) older adults, working at the intersection of the AAPI and aging fields to ensure that the challenges confronting AAPI older adults are heard and addressed.

The theme for Older Americans Month 2018 is Engage at Every Age, emphasizing that you are never too.... Read More

             

A Lack of Fair Housing for Diverse Elders Leads to Health Disparities and Economic Insecurity

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Did you know? April is National Fair Housing Month. Every April, the United States commemorates the anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act and recommits to that goal which inspired us in the aftermath of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in 1968: to eliminate housing discrimination and create equal opportunity in every community.

I thought I’d learn more about National Fair Housing Month if I went to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website. There I read: “Recent studies and data reveal that, while segregation has decreased since the passage of the Fair Housing Act 47 years ago, segregation remains a problem today.” Housing segregation is still a problem today?.... Read More

             

Southeast Asian Americans Speak Out to Protect Affordable Healthcare

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For many Southeast Asian Americans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal fight last year felt personal.

When the ACA was first passed, uninsured rates in Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese American communities were high. Compared to the 15% of Americans overall who did not have health insurance in 2011, 20% of Cambodian, 20% of Vietnamese, 19% of Laotian, and 16% of Hmong Americans were uninsured. Too many families used emergency rooms as last-resort healthcare providers or went for years without regular check-ups.

Only four years later in 2015, the uninsured rate was cut in half. Thousands of families were finally accessing the preventative and life-saving care that they needed. Some accessed care through the healthcare exchange, supported by subsidies to.... Read More

             
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