FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 1, 2019 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 47
DFTA, Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC honor friendly visiting volunteers
Friendly Visiting Program has
provided nearly 28,000 hours of
service to homebound older adults
in the past 12 months
The New York City Department
for the Aging (DFTA), Mayor’s
Office of ThriveNYC, nonprofit
Services Now for Adult Persons,
and nonprofit Citymeals held a
recognition reception for Friendly
Visiting Program volunteers who
visit isolated older adults in Queens.
Homebound older adults are
often at risk of profound social
isolation and loneliness, which can
lead to mental and physical health
challenges. The Friendly Visiting
Program, one of two initiatives
that DFTA operates in partnership
with ThriveNYC, matches welltrained
Supporting older crime victims through
services and advocacy
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
is commissioner of the New York City
Department for the Aging. Prior to
joining the de Blasio administration,
she served in executive leadership
roles with AARP, EmblemHealth and
other organizations. She also served
as New York’s first Latina Secretary
of State.
New Yorkers of all ages should
feel safe in the communities
they helped build years. That's why joining the New York City
Department for Outreach Team NYPD as we distribute informational
materials across the
City for National Night Out
Against Crime on August 6.
Every day, our Elderly Crime
Victims Resource Center
supports and guides victims as
they seek compensation for
out-of-pocket expenses and as
they interact with law enforcement,
local courts, mental
health professionals and others.
In each borough, we partner
with community-based providers
to deliver services close to
home in many languages.
Through the ThriveNYC
mental health initiative, the
City of New York has also
created the Crime Victim
Assistance Program with the
NYPD and Safe Horizon,
which places an advocate in
every precinct to better assist
victims.
Walking on a street alone,
taking the subway or sitting in
the privacy of one's home is
what New Yorkers do every
Yet we increasingly hear
about older adults being
victimized during these daily
activities. They are being
targeted for assault, robbery,
financial scams or neglect by
people they may or may not
know. These crimes are
unacceptable and outrageous.
We are all aging. As a society,
we need to own that fact!
We must protect and respect
the rights of generations that
have come before us, not
allow them to be treated as
prey.
If you are an older crime
victim or know an older
victim, please contact our
Elderly Crime Victims
Resource Center at 212-442-
3103 or call 311 for more
information.
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volunteers with older
adults for in-home visits that can
lead to lasting friendships and
offer intergenerational exchange.
The program aims to improve the
overall quality of life for older New
Yorkers.
Leadership from the Mayor’s
Office of ThriveNYC, Services
Now for Adult Persons and DFTA
celebrate volunteers.
Volunteers provided nearly
28,000 hours of visits over the past
12 months, and there have been
more than 43,000 visits since the
program launched in January 2017.
“It brings me great satisfaction
to know I am helping someone
achieve their goals. I’ve been
visiting Flora once a week for two
years. Earlier in her life, she did
beautiful bead work. Now, I help
her make jewelry — she does the
designs and I put on the clasps,”
said Friendly Visiting Program
volunteer Carol Hart.
“Meeting Carol every week on
Wednesday is fun, and it helps me
think about new jewelry. It makes
me feel very creative, and I did
not have that before,” said Flora
Sanilahijani, 66, who receives visits.
Thirty-one percent of older
adults participating in the Friendly
Visiting Program suffer from
depression and/or anxiety. Of
those assessed six months after
participating in the program, 56%
indicated a reduction in social
isolation, and 43% indicated a
reduction in loneliness.
“Social isolation is a silent
but dangerous epidemic that
can be prevented,” said DFTA
Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-
Vázquez. “Through senior centers
and initiatives like the Friendly
Visiting Program, we are committed
to helping older New Yorkers
connect with their communities,
neighbors, and friends in a city that
has so much to offer.”
“ThriveNYC is committed to
innovative strategies that bring
mental health support to those who
have historically been underserved
in new and creative ways,”
said Susan Herman, Director of
the Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC.
“We thank our Friendly Visiting
volunteers for partnering with us
and for delivering tens of thousands
of hours of support to aging New
Yorkers in need.”
“Services Now for Adult Persons
is proud to be a provider in the
Friendly Visiting service network.
Over the years, SNAP has found
that the program has not only
improved seniors’ quality of life, but
has also enriched volunteers’ lives
as well,” said Paola Miceli, Chief
Executive Officer and President of
SNAP.
The Friendly Visiting program
is currently accepting volunteers,
especially in the Bronx. Call
311 for more information about
volunteering or receiving Friendly
Visiting Program services.
Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC
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