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JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS
SECURES $845,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR NEEDED INNOVATIVE HUMAN SERVICES FOR THE AGING

Indianapolis – January 30, 2004 – Through the steadfast leadership of Senator Lugar, Senator Bayh and Congresswoman Carson, the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis (JFGI) has secured $845,000 in federal funds for innovative community services for the elderly.  The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), the public policy arm of the JFGI, spearheaded this effort which began in March of 2003, Marcia Goldstone, Executive Director for the JCRC and Michael Papo Executive Vice President of the JFGI, announced today.

The Consolidated Appropriations Bill for FY2004 (HR2673), signed into law on January 23, 2004, included program funding for our community’s “NORCs Aging in Place” demonstration project. 

NORCs, or Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, refer to neighborhoods or buildings in which a large segment of the residents are 65 years and older and have aged in place over several decades.  Research suggests that approximately one-third (12 million) of the nation’s senior population would qualify for NORC services.  The phenomenon is only expected to grow as baby-boomers age.  Surveys show that nearly 90 percent of all seniors want to remain in their homes, and “age in place,” even as they become frail and at greater risk.

An impressive network of community sponsors underscored the significance of this initiative by joining with us in this effort. 

According to Lindsey Mintz, JCRC Director of Government Affairs, this initiative aims to capitalize on the NORCs demographic phenomenon in our own community to deliver health and supportive services cost-effectively; increase service availability; organize cooperative health promotion, crises prevention, and community improvement initiatives; and develop new human, financial, and neighborhood resources for the benefit of older residents.  The most important point to be made is that the elderly will now have services which they need and which have not been available to them.

“We are incredibly grateful to Senators Bayh and Lugar and Congresswoman Carson for responding to our community’s needs for greater resources and capacity to sustain and expand services to seniors,” said Goldstone.  “Our leadership in this area stems from the fact that American Jews are aging at a rate nearly twice the national average, creating demands for immediate senior health and supportive services for the Jewish elderly that will not become apparent for the rest of the country until the mass retirement of the baby boomers over the next two decades,” she added.

“The Indianapolis Jewish Community has provided secular health and social services to populations in need for over 100 years,” said Lori Moss, ElderSource Coordinator.  ElderSource is the central planning and coordinating entity for all services that assist and support aging adults and their families as they adapt to the aging process.  “The NORCs initiative is recognition by our network that the dramatic demographic trends in aging call for innovative planning to ensure that we continue to effectively serve the community well into the future,” said Moss.  Whereas JCRC directed the lobbying efforts, ElderSource will now manage the delivery of services for older adults in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. 

Through our participation in the National NORCs Aging in Place Initiative with more than 29 independent demonstrations nationwide, we will share the methodologies and findings derived from our demonstration with the nation’s Aging Network and public policy makers, who are interested in innovative solutions to help meet the extraordinary future demands which will be faced by the nation’s existing long-term care systems.   

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