Even caregivers need a little love.<\/p>\n
A program to support the city\u2019s \u201cinvisible labor force\u201d is getting millions in new money to bolster a Big Apple population over 60 that is expected to explode over the next few years, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.<\/p>\n
A program to support New Yorkers caring for aging family members is getting a much-needed cash boost, City Hall said Monday. NYC Department for the Aging<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Department for the Aging caregiver program will get a $6.2 million infusion, increasing the program\u2019s budget to $15 million \u2014 as part of Adams\u2019 November 2025 financial plan, one of several annual updates to the 2026 city budget. <\/p>\n
The boost to the program is slated to support 3,000 additional New Yorkers caring for aging loved ones and bringing the total service to roughly 8,400, NYC Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez told The Post.<\/p>\n
The number of aging New Yorkers expected by the end of the decade will be an \u201cincredible growth,\u201d Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said. \u201cWe need to be prepared for it.\u201d Rich Press<\/p>\n
\u201cOne gap that we\u2019re concerned about, not only currently but in the future, is in caregiving given the growth of the population \u2026 we\u2019re already at a pressure point,\u201d Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said, who projects that by 2030, the city\u2019s adult population over 60 will rise from 20% to 25%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an incredible growth,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to be prepared for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The number of New Yorkers over 60 already outnumber school-aged children at around 1.8 million<\/a>, according to city figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Big Apple relies on 1.3 million unpaid caregivers \u2013 mostly older, employed women also caring for children and grandchildren, while spending at least 15 hours a week providing care to an older adult \u2013 who represent the city\u2019s \u201cinvisible labor force,\u201d Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said.<\/p>\n All Boro Community Adult Day Care Center in The Bronx. Google Maps<\/p>\n The funding, which will be distributed to various non-profit services that assist caregivers, will lead to a 25% increase in services for the program in an effort to keep pace with an already-rising demand, the city agency said.<\/p>\n The caregiving program, launched in 2002, offers training, support groups, therapy, transportation, case management and basic supplies like free walkers and wet pads.<\/p>\n The goal, Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said, is to prevent \u201cburnout\u201d among caregivers and allow older adults to age in place longer.<\/p>\n Placing someone in nursing home care runs, on average, about $185,000 annually, while \u201ccommunity care\u201d costs less than half of that, the commissioner pointed out.<\/p>\n The Big Apple\u2019s 1.3 million unpaid caregivers are an \u201cinvisible labor force,\u201d Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said. NYC Department for the Aging<\/p>\n \u201cMost people don\u2019t come to us until there\u2019s a crisis,\u201d she said, \u201cand what we want to do is have people come to us when it\u2019s earlier, before it becomes a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams\u2019 announcement was made alongside a string of other quality of life investments \u2013 including increasing the NYPD<\/a> headcount by 5,000 officers and providing additional rental assistance support for those housed in the city\u2019s shelter system.\u00a0<\/p>\n The announcement was made alongside a string of other quality of life investments from the Adams administration\u2019s November plan update. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n Overall, the Department of Aging will get an increase of $10.1 million in funding, with the bulk earmarked for the caregiver support program.\u00a0<\/p>\n The remaining $4 million will be divvied up between Aging Connect \u2013 a city-run hotline connecting older New Yorkers with home-delivered meals, home cleaning, case management and helps secure rent freezes and transportation services \u2014 and an anti-ageism campaign.<\/p>\n The Department of Aging will get a total $10.1 million for improvements, with the bulk of the funding going to the caregiver support program.\u00a0 NYC Department for the Aging<\/p>\n Members of the Adams\u2019 administration has touted Hizzoner as one of the \u201cstrongest advocates for older adults.\u201d<\/p>\n The move also comes as Adams\u2019 final weeks in Gracie Mansion wind down, while he looks to cement other defining issues of his tenure \u2014 like designating the Elizabeth Street Garden as city parkland<\/a> and mulling whether to stack the Rent Guidelines Board<\/a> to block Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s signature campaign promise to freeze rents.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that the next mayor, as an administration, sees that aging is a priority,\u201d Cort\u00e9s-V\u00e1zquez said, demanding out of Mamdani more transportation, older adult centers, social workers focused on older adults and geriatric physicians in every hospital and emergency room in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a focus on aging,\u201d she said, \u201cnot just a consideration that this population is already taken care of.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is, when we take care of it as a city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n City Hall said the new $9.3 million funding will become part of NYC Aging\u2019s new baseline funding indefinitely \u2014 meaning a funding cut would be needed to undo it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even caregivers need a little love. A program to support the city\u2019s \u201cinvisible labor force\u201d is getting millions…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":386360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[1081,5229,5289,3584,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,6358,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-386359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-eric-adams","11":"tag-hospitals","12":"tag-metro","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-city-life","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-seniors","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-us-news","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115567822433196794","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}