TESTIMONY
Jeanette Estima on the Support of Intro689 for Older Adults
1:52:10
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119 sec
Jeanette Estima testifies in support of Intro689, which aims to enhance interagency collaboration for better service to older adults in New York City.
- Estima represents City Meals on Wheels and highlights its 40-year history of delivering meals to older adults on weekends, holidays, and during emergencies.
- She emphasizes the necessity of the bill to codify efforts for improved collaboration and to remove bureaucratic barriers.
- Estima notes the diverse and growing older adult population, along with their challenges, including health issues, food insecurity, and social isolation.
- She advocates for the establishment of a cabinet for older adults, aimed at addressing these intersectional issues through better agency cooperation.
- Recommendations for enhancing the efficacy of this cabinet include mandating quarterly meetings and creating targeted working groups.
Jeanette Estima
1:52:10
Hello.
1:52:10
Good afternoon.
1:52:11
My name is Janette Steumann.
1:52:12
I'm the director of policy and advocacy at City Mills on Wheels.
1:52:16
Who you, Chair Hudson, and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify today.
1:52:20
City Mills was established over 40 years ago to fill a gap in the city home delivered meal program by providing meals on weekends, holidays, and during emergencies across the city.
1:52:31
Only supports intro689 as it will codify an important effort to improve interagency collaboration, remove bureaucratic barriers, and better serve the city's older adults.
1:52:42
The cabinet for older adults was created to bring various city agencies together with NYC aging to facilitate the coordination required to address the intersectional issues facing older adults.
1:52:55
As you've already heard, this population is rapidly growing and increasingly diverse.
1:53:00
Many experience chronic health conditions, language barriers, mobility limitations, food insecurity, poverty, cognitive native challenges and social isolation, all of which are compounded by ageism.
1:53:14
Each of these factors can and older adult from aging in place safely with dignity and social connection.
1:53:21
One example of an area where agency, interagency collaboration as needed is the maintenance of older adult centers housed in night shift buildings, which was discussed at length today.
1:53:32
The cabinet for older adults can and should help to address exactly issues like this.
1:53:38
Therefore, we support this bill to ensure that the cabinet continues in perpetuity.
1:53:42
And with a defined reporting process and ensures that that ensures it can be an effective, transparent, and accountable force advocating for older New Yorkers.
1:53:52
We've included some recommendations in our written testimony, namely to mandate quarterly meetings establish working groups to facilitate progress on targeted issues and the addition of several city agencies and offices.
1:54:05
Thank you again for your continued partnership in meeting needs of older New Yorkers.
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Coleton Whitaker from Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) at AARP on Enhancing Services for Older New Yorkers Through Interagency Collaboration