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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Cynthia Maurer, Executive Director of Visiting Neighbors
3:15:12
ยท
4 min
Cynthia Maurer, Executive Director of Visiting Neighbors, testifies about the importance of their organization in supporting seniors who wish to remain independent and at home. She emphasizes the cost-effectiveness of their programs and the critical role of volunteers in providing companionship and assistance to older adults.
- Visiting Neighbors serves seniors aged 60 to 107, focusing on those who may not attend senior centers.
- The organization provides services such as friendly visitors, shop and escort assistance, and health advocacy in hospitals.
- Maurer stresses the need for continued support from the City Council to help seniors stay active, vital, and connected in their communities.
Cynthia Maurer
3:15:12
Hello.
3:15:13
I'm Cynthia Mauer, from Visiting Neighbors, executive director.
3:15:18
First of all, I wanna say that the city council, you guys are our heroes.
3:15:23
This is a very painful period in our lives right now going what's going on.
3:15:29
And visiting neighbors is all about love, acceptance, and helping our seniors.
3:15:34
We work predominantly with the oldest old, though we help people from 60 to 107.
3:15:39
And by the way, the 107 year old that we have, she's quite spry and very clear on her wants and needs.
3:15:48
Our seniors that we work with are determined to stay independent and home.
3:15:53
They want to stay in their own homes.
3:15:54
And actually, this is probably one of the most cost effective programs that saves the city a lot of money, and yet we do a lot with very little, but we need something.
3:16:04
And we're so grateful that the city council recognizes the seniors that may not go to a senior center.
3:16:11
There are plenty of seniors that may want to get to a center, but they are not in a position to because of clothes or finances or just being able to get out and about.
3:16:22
Some don't want to, to be quite frank.
3:16:25
They want to be around young people.
3:16:27
For the ones who love to go to the centers, we'll get them there.
3:16:30
But we will provide all kinds of services, everything from friendly visitors where we have volunteers, every walk of life.
3:16:38
This is New York City.
3:16:39
We have it all.
3:16:40
Though every now and then we think we've heard every story and then we hear a new doozy that comes up.
3:16:45
So but the volunteers are amazing.
3:16:48
They represent the best of New York City.
3:16:51
And we match make based on interests and hobbies and find people that will enjoy an older person's company.
3:16:58
And the seniors after a while, they forget that it's a volunteer.
3:17:02
It's just their friend.
3:17:04
And the friend says, well, I'm a friend.
3:17:06
Am I a volunteer?
3:17:07
Yes, you're still volunteering.
3:17:09
And we have volunteers that have been with us for decades.
3:17:12
We also do shop and escort, getting people to and from every conceivable kind of appointment.
3:17:18
But it's not just an arm to hold to get through the street, It's also being there when they find out that a diagnosis is terminal.
3:17:25
Usually when we have the younger seniors and we call the youngsters 60 70 four, they are frailers, something happened or maybe they need us temporarily.
3:17:36
We will be there to be a health advocate.
3:17:39
When a senior goes into a hospital, we let the staff know that somebody's watching.
3:17:44
Because in this day and age, if you don't have an advocate and you can't advocate for yourself, then you better have a friend who can be there to support you.
3:17:52
Hospital staff is overwhelmed.
3:17:54
It's not necessarily anyone's fault.
3:17:56
We're not placing blame.
3:17:57
We're just noticing that seniors often get neglected in many settings.
3:18:02
We're here to let people know that our people are determined, and we also provide wellness discussions on every conceivable topic including some of the most difficult ones like how to talk to their own family members.
3:18:16
We just want to say this, we're trying to light a corner of our world and radiate it out.
3:18:23
We're trying to be there and let people know that seniors matter.
3:18:26
People wanna stay home.
3:18:28
They wanna be in their own homes.
3:18:29
They wanna be active in the community, wanna be vital.
3:18:33
And we're thanking you for your support and please continue it because as these great words up here I'm looking at in this amazing hall, we are for our senior people, all of our senior people.
3:18:46
And these are senior centers important, our seniors are important, and if we're lucky, we will all become one one day or we'll have a friend by our side to do it too because being alone in this world is very tough and especially now we need more love and kindness
Crystal Hudson
3:19:06
Absolutely.
Cynthia Maurer
3:19:07
Kind of deal with the other stuff that is presented our way.
3:19:13
So continue to be our champions, and we will continue to do visiting neighbors everything we can in our corner including making connections for our seniors and information referral.
3:19:24
We do everything that a friend would do because a lot of our people have nobody.
3:19:29
Thank you.
Crystal Hudson
3:19:29
Thank you so much.