DENVER, Colo. – Next50, a national foundation based in Denver focused on innovations in aging, announced today $2 million in grants to 33 organizations from Colorado and across the country that are working to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers.
The Advancing Equity in Aging funding opportunity is designed to support an organization in its work and efforts to serve historically marginalized communities.
“At Next50, we unapologetically work to advance equity in aging,” said Peter Kaldes, President & CEO of Next50. “These partners demonstrated a high-level commitment to improving equitably how they serve older adults who are too often ignored.”
The organizations that received funding to advance equity across a myriad of areas, including caregiver support, community life, elder justice, health, housing, social service, and social policy.
The organizations and the projects supported by Advancing Equity in Aging include:
Alzheimer’s Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California): This organization provides programs to people living with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers, and their providers. This project will support the creation of a third season of telenovelas in English and Spanish to raise awareness of dementia in the Latino community.
Conectoras de Montbello (Denver, Colorado): The programs run by this organization support older Latinos through workshops, tech classes, resources & referrals, transportation, and preparation for retirement. Funding will support a new community navigator staff position that will provide services to older adults in far northwest Denver.
Jewish Family Service Seattle (Seattle, Washington): Since the 1970s, Jewish Family Service Seattle has been serving immigrants from European countries through trauma-informed geriatric care management. Their project will support Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors through group activities and socialization in a linguistically appropriate setting.
La Alianza Hispana, Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts): This organization is a community-based nonprofit that serves the local Latino community through public health and educational & social services. Next50 funding will support older adult programming that includes social excursions, healthy aging programs, and programming for caregivers of adults with memory loss.
Abolitionist Law Center (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): The mission of this public interest law firm is to litigate and support people whose human rights have been violated in prison. This grant will provide compassionate release legal services to qualifying older adults. It will also help Abolitionist Law Center conduct an analysis of how Pennsylvania’s prison system fails older adults, the findings of which will be used to advocate for systemic change.
Independence Center (St. Louis, Missouri): This organization provides mental and physical health services and social supports to coordinate holistic healthcare for older adults with serious mental illness. Funding will support their Young at Heart program, which will strengthen their capacity to provide the services mentioned above.
Loving Beyond Understanding (Grand Junction, Colorado): With a focus on the LGBTQ+ population, this organization provides solutions, support, and training to improve the well-being of older adults. Next50 will support them by reaching LGBTQ+ older adults in assisted living facilities to provide social support, nutrition education, and suicide prevention.
Center for African American Health (Denver, Colorado): The mission of this organization is to empower the Black community to make informed health decisions that benefit the whole person. This project will deliver three evidence-based health education programs for aging adults to address health disparities within the Black community.
Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center (Durango, Colorado): SWCAHEC works to improve health for tribal and other underserved communities in southwestern rural Colorado. This project will support the implementation of a Community Education Series, as well as a Community Health Worker Training Series intended to support the resilience of Native Elders.
Taney County Health Department (Branson, Missouri): This health department has served the rural area of Taney County for over sixty years with the mission of improving the health of its community. Funds will be used for a pilot program to bring their sprint van to rural, low-income areas to provide older adults with free health screenings for heart disease and diabetes, as well as education and the necessary implements for monitoring their health.
Tepeyac Community Health Center (Denver, Colorado): This culturally responsive safety net provider has strong ties in metro Denver’s Latino, immigrant, and historically underserved communities, with the goal of supporting older adults who face the greatest health barriers. This grant will be used to hire an additional case manager to support older adults through care coordination, service navigation, and Medicare enrollment.
Downtown Women’s Center (Los Angeles, California): This organization is dedicated to ending women’s homelessness in Los Angeles through housing, wellness, employment, and advocacy. This grant will support an interdisciplinary team that provides wraparound services to help older women move out of homelessness, with a focus on gender-specific Permanent Supportive Housing and culturally responsive case management.
The Savings Collaborative (Carbondale, Colorado): The Savings Collaborative works to combat the systemic exclusion of marginalized families from mainstream banking. With this mission in mind, their project will expand services to low-income adults over 50 to assist them in building emergency savings funds and developing healthy saving habits.
Tigray-Ethiopian Community Association in Colorado (Aurora, Colorado): This organization is dedicated to working with immigrants and refugees from Tigray, Ethiopia. Funding will support their Elder Programs, including elder-led language and cultural classes, as well as Tarek Time, a program where an elder comes in to tell their life story to an audience.
Mission: St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri): The goal of this project is to assist older adults in living safely and independently in their homes through home repair efforts. Next50 funds will support these efforts by expanding staffing to include benefits assistance and a social worker.
El Timpano (San Francisco, California): This organization serves older adults in the Bay Area through participatory journalism to meet the needs of Spanish and Mayan Mam-speaking residents in the area. Through a text messaging service, their subscribers receive local news, relevant alerts, and access to resource navigation relevant to undocumented seniors.
Mt. Carmel Health and Wellness Community Center (Trinidad, Colorado): Mt. Carmel focuses on providing wellness services, primary care, behavioral health, and physical activities to a low-income, rural population. This grant will support their Senior Technology and Diabetes education courses.
On Lok Day Services (San Francisco, California): In response to the increasing need for safe, culturally appropriate care for the aging LGBTQ+ community, On Lok launched an Adult Day Program for LGTBQ+ older adults. Funding will be used for staffing, participant outreach efforts, program activities, and case management.
HelpAge USA (Washington, District of Columbia): The mission of this organization is to advance the well-being and inclusion of older people in the world’s poorest communities. This project will develop and implement a community mental health program known as the Friendship Bench, where community members can visit these public benches for companionship and mental health support.
Intercultural Senior Center (Omaha, Nebraska): Intercultural Senior Center focuses on improving access to resources and community events for a growing population of immigrants and refugees from around the world. Next50 will support and expand interpretation services to ensure older adults are engaged in all programs and services offered.
Little Tokyo Service Center (Los Angeles, California): This organization provides social welfare and community development services to low-income individuals across the Los Angeles area, with specific support for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese elders. Funding will support linguistically appropriate case management services to address issues such as healthcare needs and social interactions.
National Indian Council on Aging (Albuquerque, New Mexico): NICOA addresses the needs and interdependence of an elder’s life journey through a continuum of care model for local tribal communities. This grant will be used to create three Native Elders Protection Teams in New Mexico, comprised of different roles such as protective services, tribal health, and tribal housing directors.
Sound Generations (Seattle, Washington): This responsive organization works with older adults from East African countries. They are specifically focused on staffing to expand their East Africa Senior Meal Program to include access to other resources, including nutrition education, health screenings, and cultural celebrations.
Mind&Melody (Miami, Florida): This organization serves individuals with neurological impairments through interactive music programs that have both educational and therapeutic benefits. This project seeks to serve caregivers of older adults in marginalized communities by providing respite through an interactive drum-circle as an opportunity for social engagement.
One in Long Beach (Long Beach, California): One in Long Beach is dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community and offers two programs focused on older adults: Safety Net Services and Socialization Services. Funding will support the salaries of two full-time positions to continue providing access to case management and opportunities for meaningful community-building.
Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach (El Paso, Texas): This El Paso-based organization serves low-income Latino immigrants with wraparound services, including a community-run food co-op and employment opportunities. This project will support 150 older adults with a myriad of services, including benefits navigation, culturally appropriate services, and volunteer opportunities for peer-led resource navigation.
Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Nevada): This organization provides home repairs and accessibility modifications for low-income older adults at no cost. Next50 funding will support hiring a bilingual staff member to increase their capacity to serve Spanish-speaking older adults who live in low-income housing.
The PIC Place (Montrose, Colorado): The PIC Place provides health care services to rural older adults through preventative health care, primary medical care, behavioral health, substance abuse interventions, and more. Funding will support chronic care managers toward the goal of decreasing the number of emergency visits by supporting older adults in making smart choices for their health.
Homage Senior Services (Lynnwood, Washington): This Washington-based organization is the largest in the state to provide services for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. Funds will be used to support staff in providing culturally proficient outreach services to marginalized older adults in Korean, Chinese, Hispanic, Vietnamese, Slavic, Filipino, and Black communities.
Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike (Maui, Hawaii): This community-based organization enables native Hawaiian older adults to age in place, both in their homes and in their community. The program offers a range of supports, including providing locally grown nutritious foods and connecting older adults with culturally relevant physical activity and social engagement opportunities.
Out Boulder County (Boulder, Colorado): Out Boulder County serves the Boulder-area LGBTQ+ community at large, with programs focused specifically on older adults. Funding will support an LGBTQ+ Supper Club, to provide low-income older adults with free dinner and free transportation to and from a local nonprofit restaurant to build community and provide access to needed resources.
Para Ti Mujer (Denver, Colorado): This organization is dedicated to supporting Latina women through education, financial assistance, and social connections. Funds will support their Años Dorados program, to facilitate, recruit, connect, and foster relationships with older Latina women and connect them to case management services.
Wesley-Rankin Community Center (Dallas, Texas): One of the primary programs of this organization, Casa Feliz, is dedicated to serving low-income, Hispanic older adults through nutrition and transportation services, as well as being a social hub for the local community. Through this grant, they will expand their services through Feliz en Casa, which will support homebound older adults in health services, food delivery services, and movement and art opportunities.
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