Flushing’s Asian-American seniors face a unique set of challenges, and a coalition

Flushing’s Asian-American seniors face a unique set of challenges, and a coalition of six community groups is working together to do everything it can to help them live comfortably in their golden years.

A new study released last week underscores the importance of paying attention to seniors, who are often overlooked by society but many times need the most help.

“Snapshot of Flushing: An Assessment of Service Needs of the Asian American Aging Population” is a comprehensive look, based on scores of interviews, at the status of that underserved community and ways to address their needs.

One in 10 Asian-American Flushing resident is over the age of 65, and the ranks of the elderly will rise in coming years with one in five currently over 55 years old, according to the study. Adding to these demographics, more than 35 percent of households with a resident over the age of 65 have an annual income of less than $25,000, while interview subjects’ rents averaged about $882, the study shows.

Easing those economic woes requires the community to commit to advocating for the elderly.

“Not everyone has a family they can look to for support, so that’s why it’s important to maintain these senior centers and social networks so they can maintain their quality of life in retirement,” said Douglas Nam Le, community development manager for Asian Americans For Equality, one of the six participant groups.?

Despite the fact that the study was focused on Asian-American seniors, Le said it discusses many issues that confront all aging populations throughout the city.

“A lot of issues that Asian seniors face might be the same as other seniors in the Flushing area, especially regarding housing affordability, access to senior centers, food and income security and navigating Medicare and those types of entitlement programs,” he explained.

But one of the most restrictive problems for Asian seniors in particular is a low level of English fluency, with 42 percent of those interviewed not speaking English well or at all.

To respond to this barrier, the groups found that they need to dedicate more energy to ensuring laws and regulations governing access to materials in other languages are enforced at governmental agencies and other service providers.?

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State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) said the report is an important step toward protecting seniors.

“These results are just a continuation of an increasingly publicized fact that Asians should not be stereotyped as the ‘model minority,’” she said. “I will continue to partner with these advocacy groups to ensure that sufficient language access is provided by government agencies at the state level as they currently are at the city level to ensure that our government provides services to everyone and equally.”

But the story is not all negative for the seniors in Flushing, Le said.

“A lot of the seniors we spoke to were still living with family or their spouse, and they take care of each other,” he said. “It’s important to remember that it’s just not seniors living on their own and that there are all these support systems out there.”

Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2011/09/01/queens/qns_print_ft_asianstudy_2011_09_01_q_20110901.txt