FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 7, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
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OFFERING THE LOWEST PRICES ON CONTACT LENSES
Imagine working 40 hours
a week and then going home
to the even more emotionally
demanding job of caring for
a loved one. For an estimated
900,000 to 1.3 million New
York City residents, this is
the reality of their daily lives
as informal, unpaid family
caregivers.
They account for the lion’s
share of long-term services
for older adults, minors and
people with disabilities. They
run errands, help pay bills,
prepare meals, pick up and
administer medications, and
perform other tasks while also
juggling jobs outside the home.
In 2016, Mayor Bill de
Blasio signed legislation
expanding the New York City
Human Rights Law to include
“caregiver status” as a protected
category in employment. This
addition will help protect
employees with caregiving
responsibilities from being
terminated, demoted or denied
a promotion.
The Department for the
Aging is also working with the
mayor to support caregivers
through expanded access to
programs. This year, DFTA’s
budget includes an additional
$4 million, bringing our total
for caregiver support to $8
million. This money will triple
access to overnight or other
respite care, fund communitybased
caregiver programs and
provide other services.
Through DFTA’s Caregiver
Resource Center, Grandparent
Resource Center and the
NY Connects program,
social workers and trained
professionals provide direct
services and referrals for
respite, housing alternatives,
counseling, educational
workshops, and resources to
pay for some types of assistive
devices.
I encourage any New Yorker
in need of caregiving help to
call 311 to be connected to any
of these services.
DFTA recently conducted
its first “Survey of Informal
Caregivers in New York
City” and is in the process of
delivering recommendations
to support caregivers. By
helping caregivers, we keep
families intact, improve
health outcomes for clients
and caregivers, and we foster a
community that invests in the
greater good.
The economic impact
of informal caregivers of
older adults is an estimated
$470 billion across the U.S.,
according to AARP. Though we
can’t pay them all for caring for
their loved ones, the least we
can do is show them we care by
creating a stronger network of
social services.
DONNA CORRADO,
commissioner of the city’s
Department for the Aging
How the city’s support of
family caregivers helps us all