According to the DC Office on Aging, approximately 17 percent of the District’s 73,000 elderly live at or below the poverty level – a risk that increases as they get older. Forced to pay as much as 80 to 90 percent of their income in rent, these seniors often must choose between paying for housing, food or prescription drugs. Many Cafritz grantees are advocating on behalf of seniors, providing them with the resources to maintain a quality and independent lifestyle for as long as possible.

Since 1978, Emmaus Services for the Aging www.emmausservices.org has worked with isolated seniors in the Shaw and Thomas Circle neighborhoods of the city. Emmaus’ primary goal is to help seniors live independently for as long as possible. Its expertise prompted the DC Office on Aging to select Emmaus as one of two sites for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which monitors and provides oversight to DC’s private and public nursing homes. Last year, more than 1,300 hours were spent investigating 10 nursing homes and long-term care facilities. This work is crucial because many of the District’s nursing homes suffer from chronic understaffing and staff turnover, crime and a lack of trained administrators.

Since 1924, Episcopal Senior Ministries www.esm.org has focused on the needs of seniors with low and moderate incomes, helping them - regardless of their religious affiliation – to live with dignity and remain as independent as long as possible. In 1996, the organization started ESM Cares, a private care management program that finds resources, advocates for senior care, coordinates services and provides counseling for the elderly and their families in DC and suburban Maryland. Generally, these seniors cannot afford private care management at the current market rate, yet their needs often exceed the basic information and referral services provided by public agencies. Thanks to ESM Cares’ sliding fees scale, low- and moderate-income seniors have access to experienced professionals for guidance and intervention to obtain housing, healthcare and other services.

For more than twenty years, Sarah's Circle www.sarahscircle.org has provided quality affordable housing and supportive services to low-income senior citizens. Thirty-nine seniors live in subsidized apartments in a four-story Adams Morgan building. Residents pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent, the amount the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends. In addition, the Sarah’s Circle Community Center serves 100 local residents. The Community Center keeps seniors active and involved by offering a variety of health, arts, education and social service programs, as well as field trips.

A city-wide group of consumers and healthcare providers established the DC Coalition on Long Term Care www.dclongtermcare.org to assist in the planning and implementation of quality, affordable choices for low-income residents in need of long-term care. In the past year, success was achieved on a number of fronts. The Coalition fought for an increase in the hourly wage of Medicaid home care workers to $10.50, to help overcome the staffing shortage in the field. Also, the group advocated for an increase in the State Optional Payment for Supplemental Security Income recipients living in community residences and assisted living facilities to cover the higher cost of living associated with these facilities as compared to in-home placements.

The Foundation is proud to support these organizations, along with other groups serving vulnerable populations in the region.