Minutes
West Side Interagency Council on Aging
Minutes of General Meeting Held on 03/20/08
Arleen Stern: Co-chair of WSIACA, made the opening
remarks. Everyone was asked to introduce themselves.
Announcements:
Anne Cunningham: Council member Gail Brewer monthly
housing clinic is held every third Thursday of every month at Goddard Riverside
Community Center.
In conjunction with One Stop
Senior Services et al, Council member Gail Brewer is holding a forum on “Aging
Friendly in New York City” on Thursday, March 25th at the American
Bible Society. Everyone who wishes to attend must RSVP.
Michael Hoffman: – Bea Goldberg lecture at Jewish Home
and Hospital,
May 14th.
Deborah Scheinberg: full time social worker position opening
DOROT. Call at 212-769-2850 for further details.
Lilian Sicular: NV (Nazi Victims) program has opening
for a social workers. Call 212 971-7600 for more information.
Arleen Stern: New website in operation. WSIACA.com.
All meeting material will be posted. Member and member organizations can
now update their information. Also need people for WSIACA Board.
Valrey Richards-Lucas: Project Pilot has several vacancies for
social workers and case managers. For more information call 212-787-8106.
Deborah Scheinberg introduced the speaker:
Ted Finkelstein, MSW, Social
Worker,
Director of PEA (Project of
Equal Access) in the Mayor’s Office – New York City Commission on Human Rights
Highlights of the Presentation
*Aim of PEA (Project Equal Access) is to resolve cases without
litigation.
*Educate people on the programs
* Enforce civil rights law and protect people against discrimination,
housing, entitlements, public accommodations etc.
*NYC Human rights law very inclusive, known as the ‘GRAND
SCRAM”
GRAND SCRAM = GENDER, RACE,
AGE, NATIONALITY, DISABILITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, COLOR, RELIGION, ALIEN,
MARITAL STATUS
*Landlords cannot discriminate against whom an apartment is
rented to if the vacancy is publicly advertised.
*Against the law when renting
for landlord to ask about citizenship or permanent residency.
*Employers should not discriminate
against people with criminals records. *Employers should not discriminate
against battered women (including terminating employment).
*Poor people are not a protected
class of people.
*Co-ops can reject people as
long as the reason is nondiscriminatory. Bill is pending which will mandate
coop boards to disclose to potential buyers the reason for a rejection.
*People are entitled to damages when they are discriminated
against.
*The bulk of the discriminatory complaints at this time are
from the disabled and older people.
For further information and
assistance call:
Ted Finkelstein - 212-306-7330
Harvey Fisher – 718-722-3133
(Brooklyn Coordinator)
Respectfully Submitted
Valrey Richards-Lucas, Recording Secretary
Selfhelp Project Pilot
West Side Interagency Council on Aging
Minutes of General Meeting Held 02/15/08
Arleen Stern: Co-chair of WSIACA
She made the opening remarks. Everyone was asked to introduce themselves. People were encouraged to become members of WSIACA.
Arleen announced that the new website is finished and the webmaster is making final edits. Current members will be afforded the first opportunity to update their information on the newly redesigned website.
This year's Bea Goldberg's speaker will be Dr. Gary Kennedy, geriatric psychiatrist who will speak on aging and mental health concerns; the event will take place on Wednesday, May 14th at the Jewish Home and Hospital.
Announcements
Carla Slomin -WSIACA Board member announced that the WSIACA board is seeking new members; interested parties can call her at 212-580-0535. The Board meets 1st Thursday of each month at DOROT.
SPOP is hosting a series of educational seminars, starts March 7th.
DOROT has opening for a full time SW. Call 212-769-2850.
Selfhelp Project Pilot has openings for a number of Social Workers and case managers. Call 212-787-8106.
Arleen Stern introduced our speaker.
Brett Saarela, LMSW of SPOP:
Her experience includes working with individuals and groups in Substance Abuse. She has worked as Post Graduate Center, Jarvie and SMART recovery program among others. This spring she was nominated as a NASW Member-at-Large and would be delighted to have votes of NASW members.
Highlights of the Presentation
- There are many barriers to overcome in order to detect and treat substance misuse in older adults.
- Substance misuse in older adults is viewed as a hidden epidemic because it is often under recognized, under reported in older adults.
- Barriers to detection and treatment in older adults includes such factors as
social isolation; the invisibility of older substance misusers;
enabling family members; bias of stereotyping older adults as "drunk;"
bias against ability for change; invisibility of older substance misusers
- Examples of chemicals which can be missed or "abused" include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, sugar, prescription drugs and illicit drugs.
- Substance Abuse in Older Adults can be difficult to detect due to varied reasons. Symptoms can often be confused with signs of dementia, depression, anxiety and other physical problems including memory loss, falls, mood swings, insomnia, irritability and social withdrawal
- The benefits of treating substance misuse elderly are
-improved quality of life
-improved ability to care for self
-less cost for health care system overall
-positive response to treatment likely
Web sites for self-help groups, exercises & readings:
www.moderation.org
www.niaaa.nih.gov
www.smartrecovery.org
To make a referral to SPOP: 212-787-7120 X514
Respectfully submitted
Valrey Richards-Lucas, Corresponding Secretary
Selfhelp Project Pilot
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