PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Bryan Ellicott-Cook, Director of Government Relations at SAGE
2:46:11
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133 sec
Bryan Ellicott-Cook, representing SAGE, testified on financial literacy for LGBTQ+ older adults and concerns about the statewide public guardianship system. He highlighted SAGE's digital financial literacy platform, SageSense, designed to address economic disparities faced by LGBTQ+ older adults.
- Emphasized the importance of making financial literacy and elder fraud prevention initiatives inclusive and accessible to LGBTQ+ older adults and other marginalized communities
- Mentioned SAGE's financial advisor and tech support volunteers as resources for older adults
- Expressed concern about public guardianship, urging consideration of chosen family and non-documented relationships before appointment
Bryan Ellicott-Cook
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Good afternoon, chairperson, Hudson and Salam, and esteemed members of the Committee on Aging And Public Safety.
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My name is Brian Ilakotte Cook, and I use the pronouns he and they, and I am the Director of Government Relations for Sage.
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An organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ plus older adults.
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Today, I want to offer my testimony on 2 critical issues, financial literacy and the statewide public guardianship system.
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Financial literacy and Sage SENSE.
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We are grateful to the counsel for their attention to the financial well-being of older adults through perceived initiatives, which include education and elder fraud, end of life preparation, and financial literacy.
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LGBT Older Adults are often faced significant economic disparities due to a lifetime of discrimination in the workforce, housing, and healthcare.
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At Sage, we address this disparity through Sage Sense.
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Digital financial literacy platforms, specifically designed for LGBTQ plus older adults.
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SageSense offers personalized tools and resources that empower participants to make informed financial decisions covering topics such as budgeting, debt management, retirement planning.
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This platform also accounts for unique financial challenges our communities face such as navigating legal complexities related to chosen families or planning for health and long term care needs that may arise later in life.
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Incorporating principles of SageSense into city wide financial literacy programs would provide invaluable support to the valuable populations who are often excluded from traditional financial education.
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We urge the council to to ensure that new initiatives targeting financial literacy and elder for prevention are accessible and inclusive to LGBT older adults and other marginalized communities.
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I also wanted to say that we have a financial adviser at the ED Windsor Center.
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His name is Bill Owens.
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He's great.
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People go to him with questions.
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He helps them detect possible issues.
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And then we also have a unique cadre of volunteers that provide tech support to our older adults.
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So that's something we've been doing that's had been helpful.
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Concerns for public guardianship.
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I just wanna say really closely that before public guardianship is appointed, that it should be exhausted, chosen family, and non documented relationships.
