PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has one of the largest and poorest populations of older adults in the country, and the Pew Charitable Trusts is trying to beef up services for them with $4 million in grants to three nonprofits.
Kristin Romens, director of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services says seniors are the focus, because their numbers are growing so fast. Pennsylvania has the third-highest percentage of people over 60 and, in Philadelphia, 20% of seniors are low income.
“We’ve all heard national statistics about Baby Boomers aging and the significant increase in the percentage of the population who are over 65,” Romens said.
Romens says this population has unique needs. The grants are focused on three areas crucial for older adults: housing, behavioral health care and legal aid.
While affordable housing is an issue for many age groups, older adults’ needs can be complicated by accessibility and medical issues and grantee Pathways to Housing will get $2.5 million to equip new and existing units with technology that will assist residents with special needs.
Health Federation of Philadelphia will get a quarter-million dollars to support a promising new program to assist seniors with serious behavioral health issues, says Romens — “to help nursing homes care for people with schizophrenia and related disorders — so, a unique population, where there was a real gap in providers who were capable of serving them.”
And Senior Law Center will get a million and a quarter to expand its services.
“These are our grandparents, our neighbors, our senior veterans and we believe they deserve to live in dignity with justice and safety and security,” said SLC Executive Director Karen Buck.
“There are very few funders in Philadelphia and nationally who are investing in the lives of older people,” Buck said. She says seniors face legal issues including abuse, exploitation, fraud and estate planning.
“We’ll use the money to empower them with knowledge of their legal rights and to help them seek justice.”