What services does NYC provide for aging New Yorkers and their caregivers?
NEW YORK -- What services does New York City provide for aging New Yorkers and their caregivers, and how can you make sure your loved ones get the benefits they're entitled to?
As part of CBS New York's series on "The Cost of Caregiving," Jennifer Bisram shares how the city's Department for the Aging is trying to help not just financially, but also emotionally.
Some New Yorkers struggling to find services to help care for aging loved ones
Caregiver Renee Simmons' family has to shell out about $1,500 every month to care for her 91-year-old mother, despite some available services.
"I just believe that the city needs to be more on top of things," Simmons said. "We're paying out-of-pocket for services that I believe for someone at her age who worked and contributed to the city ... at a time when she was more vibrant and healthy, and to have to literally almost kind of beg for stuff, I think that's really, it's almost like a slap in the face."
It's a concern that many caregivers have, so CBS New York went to the city's Department for the Aging for answers.
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, 73, is the commissioner for the city agency. She's also a caregiver to her own 94-year-old mother.
"She just is in a rehab center because she fell. She has diabetes, heart disease, everything that happens with the onset of age," Cortés-Vázquez said.
"How hard was it for you? And you are in this industry, but how hard was it for you?" Bisram asked.
"Not only am I in this industry -- I'm the commissioner and I fund many of these things, and it was extremely hard for me," Cortés-Vázquez said.
In addition to countless applications and assessing what her mother financially qualified for, figuring out home care was also challenging.
"Is this the right approach for her? What's the number of hours of care that can she have? What's the number of hours of care that my sister and I, or my family, could chip in and support?" Cortés-Vázquez said.
She admits there isn't any easy pathway when it comes to getting aid and assistance for aging New Yorkers.
"I wish there were a simple formula, but it is so personalized because it depends on the situation of the housing situation of the individual, the financial status of both the individual and the family. How much care does someone really want?" Cortés-Vázquez said.
NYC's Aging Connect helps find home care options for aging New Yorkers
According to the Department for the Aging, by 2040, New York's 60-and-over population is projected to be at 1.86 million, a staggering 31% increase from 2010.
The city says Aging Connect is helping with the transition -- everything from information and referral services to providing tailored home care help in different languages. From July to October 2023, over 2,500 caregivers received services through the program.
"You're speaking to a real person who then makes a quick assessment as to what presenting need you're displaying and then helps you navigate and turns you to the right people," Cortés-Vázquez said. "You may need care with daily living activities. I need somebody to come in a few hours a week or two or three times a week to help my mother bathe when I can't do it."
The goal is to help keep senior citizens in the communities where they've lived, worked and contributed their whole lives.
"You would work, you retire, and at some point you go into a nursing home. That is no longer the model," Cortés-Vázquez said. "As you start seeing more and more older adults coming from communities of color, nursing home is not an option. It's very foreign to us."
Making institutionalized long-term care a last resort for most. A recent study showed 85% of aging New Yorkers chose to live independent lives, at home.
"Culturally, putting someone in a nursing home does not resonate with us," Cortés-Vázquez said. "Your regular wants and needs -- I want to be around my friends. I want to go to the church of my choice. You know what, I really like this grocery store."
While there are lots of nonprofit organizations and city programs that provide short-term care for retired New Yorkers of all backgrounds, the lack of funding can create long waiting lists and make it hard to help everyone who needs it.
"The beauty of [Presbyterian Senior Services] is that every now and then, they kick in and they give us additional home health aid services," Simmons said.
The city recently sent out a needs assessment survey for older adults living across the five boroughs both receiving and not receiving care. The commissioner says the goal is to find ways to make the system better.