QUESTION
What culturally competent programming is available at older adult centers and how are culturally aligned meals determined?
0:32:17
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105 sec
Associate Commissioner Anya Herasme discusses culturally competent programming and meal determination at older adult centers, emphasizing client input and diversity.
- Celebrations of cultural events, like Lunar New Year and Black History Month, are common across programs.
- Advisory councils involve clients in program planning, offering activities and celebrations that meet diverse cultural needs.
- Centers celebrate a wide array of cultures, often including those not represented within their client base.
- Meal planning at centers is flexible, focusing on meeting constituent needs with a variety of cuisines, especially through Home Delivered Meals (HDM) programs that contractually offer diverse menus.
- Clients participating in HDM programs can choose from multiple menu options, ensuring culturally aligned meals.
Crystal Hudson
0:32:17
Can you please describe any culturally competent programming available at the older adult centers and how our culturally aligned meals determined for each center?
Anya Herasme
0:32:25
Yes.
0:32:25
I could actually talk about this for a long time.
0:32:27
How So as
Crystal Hudson
0:32:29
As long as you'd like.
Anya Herasme
0:32:30
Yeah.
0:32:30
Thank you.
0:32:31
So February was just actually, we had the Lunar New Year in Black History Month.
0:32:35
So Most, if not all of our programs did the programming around that.
0:32:39
That's one example.
0:32:40
A lot of programs also take into consideration will not all I mean, a lot all of the programs really take into consideration the needs of the clients.
0:32:48
So clients have input.
0:32:49
We have advisory councils, which give input into programming.
0:32:53
And so it's, you know, that helps to also meet the cultural needs, whether it's playing ping pong or line dancing or a bumble class or, you know, the list goes on and on.
0:33:03
But what I also think is very special is that a lot of the centers celebrate cultures that are not their own.
0:33:08
So, like, a lot of centers will celebrate, say, impact of stay.
0:33:12
And it's not they might not have any Irish clients, but they are really honoring the culture of different of of different groups.
0:33:19
So that's also, I think, a really nice touch that a lot of our programs do.
0:33:23
And I think you asked about meals as well.
Crystal Hudson
0:33:26
Yeah.
0:33:26
How are culturally aligned meals determined for each center?
Anya Herasme
0:33:30
So for our centers, we are a little less rigid.
0:33:33
We ask that they provide menus that are based on that meet the needs of their constituents.
0:33:39
However, with the HDM programs, it's actually in their contracts to have a variety of cuisine's available, and so the clients can choose their which menu they would like.
0:33:49
And so that there's it that depends on the threshold of how many clients in that in that for our contract area.
Crystal Hudson
0:33:57
Great.
0:33:58
Thank you.
0:33:58
I'm now going to turn it over to Cheri Vilas for some questions.