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Elderly Hurricane Victims
Receiving Assistance
Senior Journal
September 13, 2005
Refugees from New Orleans sit in their room Friday, Sept. 2, 2005, at The Castle Motel in Beaumont, Texas. The trio evacuated evacuated from their lower ninth ward neighborhood last Sunday.
Photo by Scott Eslinger, AP Photo
The departments for aging in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have each received $250,000 to be used for immediate assistance to frail elders affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to a news release from the U.S. Administration on Aging.
She is deeply saddened by the devastation left in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, said Assistant Secretary Josefina Carbonell. This immediate, initial grant of hurricane relief funds to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi aging network will help connect our seniors to the supportive assistance they need to rebuild their lives.
The funds will provide hurricane victims with information and assistance, meals, case management and counseling assistance, in-home and chore services, personal hygiene supplies and relocation assistance. These funds will aid in supporting state aging networks whose role in helping seniors navigate state and federal supports has been greatly amplified in affected states.
AoA says it has worked closely with the National Aging Network to assist in the recovery in those communities hardest hit by the hurricanes.
The AoA release said the agency applauds their immediate response.
The AARP is providing money and volunteers, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging are providing temporary housing in some of their facilities, foundations are getting involved, the National Association of State Units on Aging and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging are coordinating the responses from state and area agencies on aging that are sending staff, money and supplies.
Given the widespread devastation, extensive long-term recovery efforts are needed to help restore safe and livable environments for older persons, according to the AoA.
The AoA is a Federal agency dedicated to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers through the national aging network of state and local agencies on aging, tribal organizations, service providers and volunteers.
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