Ines De la Nuez
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Good afternoon everyone.
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I am Ineste La Nues, Grand Coalition of Older Adult OEC Director at Grand Street Settlement.
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Thank you Chair Hodgson and member of the New York City Council Committee on Aging for the opportunity to provide testimony on the preliminary budget.
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Grand Street Settlement, Grand Street is a 109 year old multi service settlement house that serve over 8,000 New Yorkers through extension program for early childhood youth, older adults on the Lower East Side, Brooklyn and The Bronx.
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The Grand Coalition of Older Adults Center, funded by New York City Aging, located at 175 Atlantia Street, support health and well-being of older adults on the Lower East Side.
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It serves as a second home for many older adults.
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We provide communal and nutritious meals daily and host a wide range of health and wellness educational, cultural, social, and civic activities.
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Our robust programming ensure that our older adults remain socially connected and civically engaged.
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In addition to the service offer to the older adult, our older adult center, the Baruch elder service team based NORC provide comprehensive medical, social, and supportive services to over 700 residents of the Bernard Baruch houses.
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Our center for older adults feature variety of activities including arts, crafts, bingo, gardening, Latin dance, mental health, support yoga, tai chi, evidence based programming, and much more.
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Peer volunteers assist homebound older adults by providing essential transportation to medical appointments and errands.
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Staying socially engaged enhance our emotional, intellectual and physical well-being.
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At Grand Street Statement, we are dedicated to supporting the aging community and achieving their health and wellness goals.
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We are committed to the effort and are proud to be a member of the United Neighborhood Houses, UNH, a policy and social change organization that represent neighborhood settlement houses serving on over 80,000 New Yorkers from diverse background.
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Additionally, we are member of Live On New York, which provide essential services on their New York City aging portfolio along with many other home and community based services throughout our city.
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Programming for older adults and preliminary budget.
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Without further investment, the FY twenty C preliminary budget will have dire consequences for older adults who rely on organizations such as Grand Street Settlement and other services.
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The budget reduced funding for New York City aging by 100,000,000 in FY twenty six.
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About quarter of the agency total budget.
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These costs are not new but have become increasingly urgent as other adults rely on services and support.
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We urge you to put back the 100,000,000 to the city budget.
