Seniors Program

In 2003, FAHSI conducted a pilot project for Filipino seniors at its community center in Jamaica, Queens. The initial meeting gave Filipino seniors an opportunity to speak about their concerns and make social contacts with others in the community. FAHSI staff and Board members also conducted a preliminary needs assessment to identify Seniors’ interests. Proposed group activities range from congregate meals programs to social and recreational activities, including arts and crafts, cooking, dance, and games such as bingo and mahjong.

Target Population and How They Will Benefit. FAHSI's Senior Center Programs target older Filipino and other immigrant adults in New York City. The 2000 U.S. Census indicated that 7% of the Filipino population in New York is over 65 years of age, with the population rapidly growing. According to Asian American Elders in New York, adults over age 65 comprised 12.5% of the New York Filipino population in 2003. This same report indicated that there are more than 2,300 Filipino adults over age 65 in Queens, where FAHSI is located and where most of the senior participants live. The average age of the population over 65 is age 73; 67% are female; 52% are married and 33% are widowed. Their median age at their time of immigration is 50, while 60% are U.S. citizens.

FAHSI created these Senior programs and services as part of its mission to improve social conditions and enhance the self-reliance of vulnerable segments of the Filipino American community in New York. FAHSI has identified the needs of Filipino seniors through direct services to the community, a 2003 internal needs assessment, and through Asian American Elders in New York: A Study of Health, Social Needs, Quality of Life and Quality of Care, a 2003 report issued by the Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY) that documents the needs of seniors in New York City.FAHSI has found that seniors live with significant financial limitations and need culturally-responsive help in accessing social and health services.Because they are few gathering places to interact with their peers and to strengthen their social bonds with the community, seniors often feel isolated and estranged, particularly within a diverse, urban setting such as New York City.

The Senior Center Programs address the following identified needs of seniors:

1.Difficulty Accessing and Lack of Awareness of Available Social Services and Entitled Benefits. Asian American Elders in New York indicates that Filipinos over age 65 in New York have very limited incomes and unmet social and human service needs. Nearly 50% do not receive social security although 85% are no longer working, and nearly 20% say they “can’t really get by” financially. Although many Filipino seniors use services through the Department of Social Services, Medicare and Medicaid programs, and Senior Centers – many are unaware of services available, if they are eligible, or how to access them. The Asian American Elders report identified the most needed services for seniors, which include: “services from Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, and legal services” and “help with entitlements and language translation services.” Ensuring availability of health insurance and low-cost health services is also a growing need. Some Filipino veterans, although they were citizens of the Philippines during the Second World War, served directly or indirectly under the U.S. military and are now eligible to receive benefits from the Veterans Administration.

2. The need for culturally and linguistically responsive services. Although many Filipinos speak English, Tagalog is often the first language spoken by older adults in Filipino American households and not all Filipinos are fluent in English. According to Asian American Elders in New York, only 20% of Filipino seniors in New York reported they speak English “very well” and just 29% sometimes speak English at home with family and friends. The same report indicated that there is a need “for more programs geared to the cultural background of this population” and “leisure activities…(that) reflect their values and enhance ethnic identities (and) reduce barriers to participation.”

3. Mental depression, social isolation, and life stress Asian American Elders indicates that more than 15% of the senior Filipino population is moderately or severely mentally depressed. The report states that “fewer depressive symptoms were shown to be a factor in higher quality of life in terms of general health, general mental health, physical and social functioning and vitality” and that the “level of depression is the most powerful predictor of the degree of life satisfaction.” Recommendations for reducing depression, social isolation, and life stress among older adults include improved peer relationships, intergenerational activities, and addressing the cultural gap between elders and their children and younger generation. The report suggests that organizations serving seniors “integrate informal social support systems into program development and service delivery.” FAHSI’s own experience underscores these findings. Senior adults in the community have expressed their need and interest in participating in social and recreational activities in a place where they can feel comfortable and interact with others in the community.

With the successful implementation of senior programming, FAHSI hopes to find continued support from the New York City Department of Aging, as well as other private and corporate funders.

We would like to thank the Ong Family Foundation, Laura B. Vogler Foundation and Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY) for their help in funding this program.

For more information or to volunteer for Senior activities, contact Johanna Martinez at (718) 883-1295 or jmartinez@fahsi.org.