Aging and Poverty News
"The need is great in this region, which has a high proportion of elderly and low-income residents who can't afford to pay a tax preparer or who may risk missing refunds doing taxes themselves, said Linda Ranagan, site coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program through the United Way of Cumberland County"
"Similar to ADHC, the new program will offer center-based skilled health and nursing care, therapy, transportation and other services to eligible low-income seniors and people with disabilities. ADHC will be phased out and replaced by the new program on March 1."
"The state's Community Care Program serves about 80,000 low-income people 60 and older. About 10 percent of the program's clients are 90 or older, according to Mary Killough, deputy director of the Illinois Department on Aging."
"Advocates for low-income Mainers are presenting a report that highlights the impact of poverty on children, families and seniors. The Maine Community Action Association released its annual Poverty Report Update on Thursday. The report was prepared by the Margaret Chase Smith Center at the University of Maine. The report highlights newly released county-by-county poverty data from the 2010 U.S. Census."
"The problem follows a messy transition in summer from free-ride RTA permits for riders 65 and older on the CTA, Metra and Pace to a reduced-fare permit that took effect Sept. 1 for most seniors. Low-income seniors can still ride for free under a program originally introduced by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich four years ago."
"Because Social Security and Medicare are not means-tested, the share of transfer payments going to middle- and upper-income households tends to increase, for several reasons. The retirement age is essentially fixed, but people are living longer."
"Last year, we saw a massive 83% corporate tax cut to replace the Michigan Business Tax without a shred of proof offered that it will create jobs. Yes, the MBT was broken, but, no, it should not have been fixed at the expense of the elderly, low-income residents and Michigan's homeless shelters and other nonprofits."
"Luz Onofre has lived in the District since 1963, but she struggles to pay the below-market rent of $900 a month for her Mount Pleasant apartment."
"The biggest issues, advocates say, are Medicaid reimbursement rates in Illinois that are among the lowest in the country for specialized care and administrative hassles that go along with treating low-income patients. Dentists say they can't make ends meet."
"But as a low-income renter, Carter has limited options. And as a gay black man, he's concerned his choice of senior living facilities might be narrowed further by the possibility of intolerant residents or staff members."
"Senior citizens in Preble County, Ohio, and in five Indiana counties received holiday gifts of food and other items through the Preble County Council on Aging and the Richmond-based Area 9 In-Home and Community Services Agency."
"Officials recognize that a ban can be a burden for tenants, particularly because many are elderly or disabled. At Franklin Towers, where the elevators lumber slowly up 16 floors, Mark Adelson, the executive director of the Portland Housing Authority, half-joked that by the time smokers go outside and get back in, they need to go out again for another cigarette."
"Urban Institute analysts believe there are enormous potential savings from aggressively managing and coordinating the care provided to elderly people who are poor enough to receive services from both Medicare and Medicaid, and from better managing the treatment of Medicare patients who have multiple chronic conditions."
"Most suffer from diabetes, congestive heart failure or other long-term illness. They're like the millions of chronically ill Americans who visit doctors half a dozen times a year or more and, by some measures, account for 80 percent or more of all spending by the Medicare program for senior citizens."
"He made it big and has lots of rich friends and plenty of money. When today's elderly people started to work, and the baby boomers started to work, the pay was very low, so even though we worked hard all of our lives our Social Security checks are not high enough to meet today's prices."
"Workers in the home health care industry - one of the country's fastest growing professions - would be guaranteed minimum wage and overtime protections under new rules proposed yesterday by the Obama administration."
"Two pieces of economic news should not be allowed to slip quickly from the headlines this week. The first has to do with the new poverty numbers. Nearly one in two Americans have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low-income."
"Male, 73, spent five years on a waiting list before finally moving into a cozy one-bedroom unit in Henrietta's Springside Meadows Apartments. The apartments cater to low-income seniors and disabled individuals, and cost 30 percent of a tenant's monthly income. Prospective renters must make no more than $23,750 per year to qualify."
"Budget cuts and eligibility changes will slash the number of low-income Mecklenburg County households that get help paying their heating bills this winter. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program spread $5.5 million among 28,000 Mecklenburg households last year. This year it's expected to spend about $1 million serving fewer than 6,000 clients."
"Elvira Rios Leyva had a soft spot for homeless people. 'Not only was she loving, but she was very giving,' said Fort Worth police officer Julie Cox, Leyva's granddaughter. 'She didn't have money, but she would give the shirt off her back, or she would open the doors of her house to the homeless so they could have a place to sleep.'"
"They were afraid a homeless shelter would cause even more problems in the area, including a potential increased risk to residents' safety, said City Council member Lee Albrecht, who represents the neighborhood on the city's east side."
"[A recent] report recommends legislation to require basic access in all new housing; increasing the availability of a low-income housing tax credit, particularly for people with disabilities; and increasing services for people with disabilities that allow them to live in the community and not an institution."
"And one driven by ideology - an 'every man for himself' ideology that fails to understand the very premise of Social Security. It is not an 'investment' option for retirement, as Gingrich wants people to believe. It is a safety net to ensure the elderly have at least some money to ward off the ravages of poverty."
"And resources for seniors are only getting thinner, as federal, state and city funding for seniors is cut, even as the U.S. government is expanding its definition of poverty, Area Agency on Aging Direct Services Supervisor Anne Payne said. The new federal calculation method shifts millions of seniors below the poverty line by incorporating out-of-pocket medical costs in their expenses"
"Like many middle-class American baby boomers, Linda Carmona-Sanchez is anxious about slipping into poverty and says whatever dreams she once had about retirement in her "golden years" have turned into nightmares."
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