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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Navdeep Bains, Associate Director of Advocacy and Policy at Asian American Federation
5:06:40
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143 sec
Navdeep Bains from the Asian American Federation testified on the needs of Asian older adults in New York City, highlighting their rapid population growth, high poverty rates, and unique challenges. He urged for increased funding and support for older adult services, especially those catering to the Asian community.
- Asian older adults make up 14% of NYC's senior population, with 42% being low-income and 84% having limited English proficiency.
- Key issues include food insecurity, fears of anti-Asian violence, lack of funding for older adult centers, and insufficient mental health support.
- Recommendations include increasing funding for older adult service providers, supporting culturally competent food and mental health services, and continuing support for AAF's Older Adult Initiative.
Navdeep Bains
5:06:40
Okay, thank you Chair Crystal Hudson and the Committee on Aging, as well as Chair Justin Brannon and the Committee on Finance for holding this hearing and giving us the opportunity to testify.
5:06:49
I am Navdeep Baines, Associate Director of Adsy and Policy at the Asian American Federation, where we proudly represent the collective voice of more than 70 member non profits serving 1,500,000 Asian New Yorkers.
5:07:01
Asian older adults are the fastest growing older adult community citywide, making up 14% of New York City Senior population.
5:07:08
This population growth was coupled with a rise in poverty and currently 42% of Asian seniors are low income, making them among the city's poorest seniors.
5:07:17
Moreover 25% of Asian seniors experiencing poverty live alone and face isolation, and 84% of our seniors have limited English proficiency.
5:07:26
I want to discuss the state of our aging population and how the city's budget can best serve their needs.
5:07:31
Despite ongoing threats to federal funding cuts and growing anti immigrant policies, our member organizations like COPO and Homecrest have persevered and continue serving the community.
5:07:41
Specifically, our seniors working group includes 12 member organizations serving 10 different Asian ethnicities, and it is essential for these organizations to receive continued support from the city to maintain their work.
5:07:53
The issues impacting the Asian elderly population includes food insecurity, fears of anti Asian violence, a lack of funding for older adult centers, and a lack of mental health support.
5:08:06
We're grateful to see the mayor's budget backfill expiring stimulus dollars related to PEG initiatives, but we're worried that when budget negotiations take place and a further lack of investment from the federal government is taken into account, funding for our older adult services could be some of the first on the chopping block.
5:08:22
So we want to make some recommendations.
5:08:25
Increase funding to older adult service providers and expand this funding to include time and expenses spent on case management and digital literacy.
5:08:34
Continue funding a network of linguistically and culturally competent food service programs that provide a variety of benefits to older adults.
5:08:43
Expand funding to include culturally competent in language mental health services for older adults.
5:08:49
And continue to support AAF's Older Adult Initiative to fund our research, our advocacy, and our programming to highlight the unique needs of Asian seniors.
5:08:57
Thank you for listening to our community's needs, and thank you so much for all the work that you all do to continue to support our community.