NEW YORK - More than 350 seniors and social workers descended on New York City's City Hall Wednesday to demand a fair share of the city budget for services through the Department for the Aging, and more support for family caregivers.

Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the city's population, but one in five lives in poverty and thousands more are barely above the poverty line.

According to Bobbie Sackman, director of public policy at LiveOn NY, the city's Department for the Aging pays its case managers about $20,000 a year less than those in other social services.

"Every year, one out of three case managers leaves their job," she said. "You're making $35,000 a year. You have a big caseload, complicated cases. You're not going to stay."

The city budget includes $4.8 million for salary parity for case managers, but Sackman said more than $7 million is needed to raise salaries this year.

Beyond case managers, there are thousands of adults spending 20 or more hours a week to care for an aging parent or spouse. Sackman said passage of the statewide Family Leave Act earlier this year will help, but the city needs to fund supportive services for family caregivers.

"So if you need some home care, if you need somewhere to place your elderly mother so that you can go to work, or caregiver support groups so people can come together and talk," she said.

She said caregivers who don't get adequate support services are likely to burn out from the stress of work and family.

Under the previous administration, funding for adult day-care services for seniors with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia were cut. This year, Sackman said, they're asking the city for $2.3 million.

"Two-point-three-million dollars was the amount the city was spending under (former mayor Michael) Bloomberg seven or eight years ago and the administration hasn't brought these services back to that level," she added.

Sackman maintains that by investing in seniors, the city helps them remain in their homes longer and helps their caregivers remain more productive.


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AARP Colorado is accepting applications from nonprofits and local governments across the state for this year's Community Challenge grant program.

The grants are part of AARP's national Livable Communities initiative.

Associate State Director Marissa Volpe said they're meant to fund quick-action projects that help rural, suburban, and urban communities make improvements - with a special focus on the needs of people 50 and older.

"These are really small dollar, big impact grants," said Volpe, "that aim to make communities more livable for people of all ages."

AARP has invested more than $20 million in some 1,700 projects since 2017, including 32 in Colorado.

Grants have helped launch community gardens, and disaster preparedness training, increase high-speed internet access, and improve housing, and public transportation.

This year's projects must be completed by December 15. Applications are online at AARP.org/communitychallenge. The deadline is 3 p.m. Mountain Time on March 5.

Volpe said capacity-building micro grants are a good way to get neighbors to work on projects that can lead to long-lasting improvements.

For example, walkability audits help people see their community from a pedestrian's perspective, and create a checklist of improvements for city planners.

"Can two people walk down the sidewalk together?," said Volpe. "Is it accessible for somebody who may be rolling in a wheelchair? Are there cracks, are there tree stumps coming through? Are there places to sit and rest, are there benches?"

Volpe says AARP is committed to getting resources into communities that have traditionally been left behind when it comes to investments in green spaces, playgrounds and even streetlights and sidewalks.

"We absolutely want to think about those communities that have been underserved," said Volpe, "and how this grant is going to address those disparities."

The city of La Crosse is hoping a new online design library of Accessory Dwelling Units will help inspire residents to build one.

The units have been touted as a possible solution to housing shortages. After the city was awarded nearly $20,000 last year through AARP Wisconsin's Community Challenge, it asked residents to submit designs to show the community what is possible in their own backyards.

Lewis Coleman, environmental and sustainability planner for the city of La Crosse, said the secondary housing units can be attached to, or separate from, the main house.

"The top three ADU designs that we picked were based on affordability, accessibility, and sustainability," Coleman outlined. "We wanted to make sure that these were residences that were in reach from a cost perspective."

The three finalists were selected from 26 submissions and were each awarded $3,000. Coleman pointed out what is left of the grant money will potentially be used to make the winning concepts into ready-to-build plans.

The city faces a potential landlock because of the Mississippi River, steep slopes and adjacent jurisdictions. In addition to seeing Accessory Dwelling Units as a way to increase homes, Coleman noted they can offer financial support for homeowners who rent them out. They can also provide multigenerational housing for parents of children with disabilities or children who want to live near their aging parents.

Coleman acknowledged there are some downfalls, especially in light of rising construction costs.

"In some cases, it could cost as much as a house, as a full size house," Coleman emphasized. "That's still a challenge. And one of the things we're looking at is working with our local lenders to put together financial packages that could make it easier for homeowners to add this to their backyard."

Other past AARP grant-supported projects in Wisconsin include dementia-friendly parks, medicinal plant gardens, senior and veteran home programs and rural community enhancements. The nationwide initiative serves to support improvements that meet long-standing and emerging challenges in communities.

Wisconsin residents can submit an application for this year's AARP Community Challenge until March 5.


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Valentine's Day is this Friday and AARP Arizona wants to caution Arizonans to be careful with who they are talking to online.

The National Retail Federation estimated more than 50% of consumers will spend more than $27 billion on the holiday.

Dawn Alexander, communications analyst for AARP Arizona, does not want people to fall victim to "romance scams." She explained the scams start online through social media or dating apps. Scammers often target people who have gone through some sort of hardship and are in search of companionship.

"The problem is that once you engage with them, then it is going to move really, really fast," Alexander pointed out. "The red flags are you never want to give money to people, they're going to tell you that they're in the states and that they need help, they're going to tell you how much they want to be with you and how much they love you. They won't stop until you're able to give them money."

Alexander acknowledged many times, people feel embarrassed and shameful once they realize they have fallen victim to a romance scam. But she added it is important to report incidents to local authorities, because if it goes unreported, law enforcement officers and policymakers will not know it is a problem. She advised if you're in doubt about a situation give the free AARP Fraud Watch Network a call at 877-908-3360.

Alexander considers technology a blessing and a curse. She noted while the internet, social media and now artificial intelligence have all facilitated connecting with others, there are bad actors out there taking advantage of it.

"These scammers are reaching out to people and using it to a disadvantage on people and really taking advantage of their weaknesses," Alexander emphasized.

It is also tax season, and people have started to receive fraudulent text messages claiming they are eligible for a $1,400 stimulus check. Alexander said the text messages normally include a link that looks like the IRS website but clicking on it could put your personal and financial information at risk.

"You know your instinct is curiosity," Alexander observed. "Curiosity killed the cat, you want to know what that said, but if you don't know who that is, don't open those. Because if you click on that link you're going to become very susceptible to a scam."