As the elderly population in New York City grows, services for senior

As the elderly population in New York City grows, services for senior citizens have become even more important. At the November 22 City Council’s town hall meeting on the prevention of elderly abuse, the Department for the Aging (DFTA) and other civil rights organizations said that services for the elderly are in great demand; however, the funding for them has been decreasing, raising much concern. City Councilman Peter Koo (R-District 20) said that he will do his best to secure more budget allocations for the prevention of elderly abuse and other similar services.

According to federal government statistics, the population of seniors 65 years or older will increase from the current figure of 40 million to 55 million by the end of 2010. This is an increase of 36 percent. The population of seniors over 85 will also increase. Federal, state, and city governments all provide various elderly abuse prevention services. In New York City, the DFTA provides training to staff who work with elderly. The DFTA also sets up the Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center that takes cases referred by community organizations.

Many elder abuse cases are not reported. According to DFTA, senior citizens often refuse to come forward because their abusers, who are usually family members and caretakers, do not want them to interact with the outside world. Senior citizens are also often embarrassed of being abused and afraid of retaliation.

In the Chinese community, there is a “don’t air your dirty laundry” mentality. Many senior citizens are unwilling to tell other people that they have been abused. In addition, many of the Chinese elderly do not speak English and have to stay at home. Since their children face financial and cultural pressure, they often neglect their parents and their emotional needs.

Some of the descriptions of elder abuse offered by some organizations at the recent town hall meeting were quite disturbing. Descriptions included cases when elderly people were beaten and deprived of food. In addition to physical injury, there are also cases of neglect and abandonment. In half of all cases, the elderly are faced with financial restraints.

According to the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged, so far this year there has been a 20 percent increase in elder abuse cases. At the same time, the budget for aiding seniors has been decreasing. The elderly population hopes that City Hall will help preserve the budget for these much-needed services.

By Shan Liu, World Journal, 23 November 2010. Translated from Chinese by Connie Yik Kong.