Albany, NY – Assemblymember Harry Bronson, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging, today announced that the 2019-20 enacted state budget includes critical funding for programs designed to helping aging New Yorkers receive the services they need to age in place, and also invests funding to prevent and assist those experiencing elder abuse.

“As the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging, I am committed to advancing policy and programs that protect the health, safety, independence and wellbeing of our aging New Yorkers,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “I am pleased to announce that the Assembly Budget includes $15 million for the Enhanced In-home Services for the Elderly Program, which will provide local Offices for the Aging with the needed resources to care for our loved ones. This year’s state budget also includes more than $500,000 in funding for Lifespan, a Rochester non-profit which operates the Upstate Elder Abuse Center to prevent and protect older New Yorkers from exploitation through intervention, education and outreach.

Ann Marie Cook, President and CEO of Lifespan of Greater Rochester said “I would like to thank Assemblyman Harry Bronson for his commitment, leadership and advocacy to ensure funding for aging services and elder abuse prevention activities, so that older New Yorkers can live a life free from abuse and mistreatment,” said Ann Marie Cook, President & CEO of Lifespan of Greater Rochester.

“A recent study by the Center for an Urban Future has found nearly one in six New Yorkers is 65 and above. As New York’s population continues to age, we must continue to fund the programs that help keep older New Yorkers in the vibrant communities they have helped to build over the course of their lives,” Bronson continued. “Lifespan has shown time and again they have the expertise to help our older adult population and those who care for them, and I am proud to have successfully fought for this funding to support their vital work.”

The Assembly Budget also includes $1,000,000 in funding for the Community Services for the Elderly Program, which provides localities with considerable financial flexibility to address unmet needs of their aging populations in their communities; $250,000 for Older Adults Technology Centers, which provides aging New Yorkers with instruction and educational opportunities on how to use computer programs and other technology; $100,000 for a Senior Rights Hotline which serves as a one-stop shop for information on legal rights and services for older New Yorkers; and $100,000 for SAGE LGBT Welcoming Elder Housing which seeks to provide housing stability for aging member of the LGBTQ community who often face discrimination in traditional senior housing institutions.