LiveOn NY

“We should be doubling, tripping, quadrupling on investments for older adult services to meet and match that population increase. A trend for this budget was that the Council fought really hard to restore a lot of the cuts that the mayor had made. But we need to go beyond just restoring those cuts, we need to now actually invest deeply in these programs and services for New Yorkers,” said Councilmember and Chair of Committee on Aging Crystal Hudson. Thank you City Limits and Subeksha Poudel for your journalism to show that NYC needs to commit significantly more money and resources to ensure that older New Yorkers have access to basic human needs. Food, housing, community - these are not "nice to have" - they help us maintain our humanity. Older New Yorkers deserve better. https://lnkd.in/ePYrdEez

Trust grantee LiveOn NY published a new report about how New York City’s older adults experience housing and homelessness. The Trust supported the creation of this report through a 2021 grant and is committed to grantmaking #ForOlderAdultsForever. Read the report 🔗: https://lnkd.in/eBnYNK7J Read The New York Times story here 🔗: https://lnkd.in/e-D4_mzB #TheNewYorkCommunityTrust #NYCPhilanthropy #ForHousingForever

Amazing morning at Bronx Borough Hall with Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers, Ella) as LiveOn NY joined over 100 older New Yorkers to call for a capital fund to repair the city’s 300+ older adult centers (OACs) and denounce the Adams administration’s proposed $18 million cuts OACs. We were also joined by State Senator Nathalia Fernandez. Thank you LiveOn members who attended today! AARP New York, Acacia Network/IPRHE, BronxWorks, CenterLight Health System, Emerald Isle Immigration Center, JASA, The New York Academy of Medicine, PSS, Riverdale Y (JCC), RSS-Riverdale Senior Services, WSFSSH, Inc., & YMCA of Greater New York. “In 2024, I want more programs for older adults. I want more resources. I want all of you to have everything you rightfully deserve as New Yorkers,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. “You have built this city to be what it is today and we owe you. You’ve had our backs and we need to have your backs.”

Yesterday at City Hall, the Mayor and New York City Council announced a major investment in the human services sector: over the next three years, the City budget will include an almost 9.27% increase to City-contracted human services workforce wages. Encore Case Worker, Autrice Wildman shared how this investment in the human services sector impacts lives across NYC: "Back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic when businesses shut down and New York was in turmoil. This city called on its Essential workers and we showed up and made sure all-in-need continued to receive services. MOW deliverers delivered not only a hot meal but a smile to isolated older adults, they also became therapists, garbageman, and lottery ticket agents. We see you… All the workers keeping children safe and away from the criminal justice system. Crime Victim Advocates, Kitchen Staff, Child Care Workers, Residential Care Workers, We heard you… Today is a victory and we thank this administration for acknowledging the pay disparity that has been inflicted upon social service workers for the past 10 years. Living in this city where a gallon of milk costs $7 and we will not begin to discuss the rise in egg and cheese prices. New York City with no COLA has meant going without, telling my children they can only have items on sale or Ill try to find it online which they have figured out means please stop asking we can not afford this right now. With the approval of this new three year COLA commitment, I look forward to making a purchase without guilt or worry that I will be short on the rent this month or my cellphone being disconnected."

Thank you to the 120+ orgs that signed onto the letter urging Governor Kathy C. Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins & Speaker Carl Heastie to fund vital home services ensuring older New Yorkers can access services. $42M eliminates waitlist for transportation, home care & other essential services to help struggling family. Clearing the wait list for home- and community-based services will allow almost 20,000 older adults to stay in and participate in their communities. The Assembly and Senate are truly champions of aging in our state and with this investment they are righting a historic wrong and bringing some justice to older New Yorkers. AARP New York https://lnkd.in/eQdWz74A

BIG NEWS: The NYC Office of the Mayor just announced that City-contracted human services workers will receive over 9% in wage increases over the next 3 years. This is a major win for #JustPay, and is the result of thousands of calls, emails and actions from human services workers! Here’s what to expect:  A 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for FY25 – on top of the $170 million already allocated for the Workforce Enhancement Initiative from the last two years A 3% cost-of-living adjustment for FY26   A 3% cost-of-living adjustment for FY27 Since we launched the JustPay campaign in 2021, we’ve been calling on the City to make long overdue investment in the essential human services workforce. There is much more advocacy to do to ensure human services workers are paid fairly. But with decades of divestment and underfunding, this City COLA announcement is a step in the right direction. Thank you NYC Office of the Mayor First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright , Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana J. Almanzar, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom and all our New York City Council champions – including Speaker Adams, Councilman Brannan and Councilmember Althea Stevens – for listening to our voices! THANK YOU Human Services Council of New York for leading the #JustPay campaign. LiveOn NY is thrilled to be your partner and is thankful for your leadership.