Summer 2004

• New Directions Conference
• National Campaign a Huge Success
• New Positive Aging Act Would Support Integrated Mental Health/Aging Projects
• Advocacy Reverses Policy and Restores Counseling for Older Adults
• Comments by the Director
• Domingo Nieves Begins Latino Outreach Project
• Thoughts on Working with an Older Adult Support Group
• Announcements

New Directions Conference Will Focus on Understanding and Serving Our Rich Diversity

The Delaware Valley has a rich mix of cultures and ethnic groups. The Mental Health Aging Advocacy Project believes that serving the behavioral health needs of older adults requires respect for older adults.

This year's annual conference, New Directions In Geriatric Behavioral Health; Serving Older Adults Of Different Cultures on October 6, seeks to explore this important issue. The purpose of this conference is to discover the implications for providing appropriate mental health services to older adults of various cultures.

The conference will be held at Belmont Center for Comprehensive Treatment at 4200 Monument Road in Philadelphia. Dr. Norma D. Thomas executive director of the Center for Ethnic and Minority Aging will be the keynote speaker.

An experienced panel of experts will explore different cultural perspectives on aging and mental health. The names of panel members And the cultural perspective they will speak about are:Allen Glicksman, PhD- Soviet; Yeon KyungChee, PhD- Korean;Inderjit Jaipaul, DSW, LSW-Indian; Dr. Danny Del African American. Hikmah Gardiner, from the Senior Advocacy Team will serve as moderator.

Following a delicious lunch the group will be treated to another lively interactive performance by the Temple Circle Theater. This inter generational group was a big hit at the 2002 conference.

The afternoon panel will focus on programs from Washington DC, New York, Chicago and bringing mental health services to ethnic populations.

It should be a dynamic conference with much good information and interactive learning.

National Campaign a Huge Success: Congress Restores Mental Health/Aging Funding

An important victory with long lasting results came last week when the Senate restored funding for the mental health and aging program that had been eliminated by the Bush Administration. On a vote of 14 to 0 the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to restore $5 million for the Mental Health Outreach and Treatment to the Elderly program. This follows a vote earlier in the summer by the House of Representatives to also restore the funding. While the whole budget hasn't been acted on yet, this action insures that the whole Congress is committed to funding this important program.

In 2002, Congress began funding the program to expand nine pilot mental health programs for older adults and a technical assistance center called the Positive Aging Resource Center (PARC).These programs have been successful in serving older adults, who have traditionally been reluctant to seek services through mental health centers. One in five older adults has some form of mental health problem while only 3% actually get help from a mental health professional.

The vote was the climax of a big advocacy effort that began in West Philadelphia at Haddington Senior Center on June 1, 2004. At that time 100 older adults and advocates rallied to begin the Campaign to Restore Our Commitment to Mental Health and Aging. They signed a huge petition and promised to write letters and spread the word about the need to get Congress to put back the funds that the Bush Administration had taken out for older adults.

The campaign grew as many groups joined the list of twenty-five national and state organizations and over 800 hundred senior citizens, family members and advocates signed petitions at senior centers, health fairs and public gatherings.

In August, a group of 15 representatives visited the office of Pennsylvania's Senator Arlen Specter and important leader on the Appropriations Committee. They present the petitions and urged him to restore the funding.

"We hope that this victory will encourage older adults and advocates to further action on this critical need. We discovered a lot of people out there who are very supportive of our cause but need something concrete that they can do and feel it will make a difference."Said Tom Volkert who helped direct the campaign.

New Positive Aging Act Would Support Integrated Mental Health/Aging Projects

New legislation introduced in Congress in June could help establish mental health services for older adults. The Positive Aging Act of 2004 would authorize government agencies to fund programs that integrate mental health care with primary health care sites including senior centers, retirement and assisted living facilities and communityhealth centers. The bill would also encourage the formation of multidisciplinary teams of mental health providers and help raise awareness of mental health care for older adults.

The bill was introduced by Senators Hillary Clinton (D_NY), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)and IIeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla).

Pennsylvania: Advocacy Reverses Policy and Restores Counseling for Older Adults

Quick action by providers and advocates were able to reverse a recent policy that could have resulted in many homebound older adults losing their mental health counseling.

The issue involved counseling services to people on the Pennsylvania Department of Aging waiver program. The waiver program provides services at home to people who are nursing home eligible but choose to remain at home. Waiver services are authorized by the Area Agency On Aging for recipients and are paid for by the Department of Public Welfare Office of Medical Assistance.

As part of a national effort to develop uniform billing codes in Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Pennsylvania), the Department of Aging initiated a move to make reimbursement for counseling services for waiver clients under the same code as counseling services for medical assistance clients. However, this would have resulted in cutting other types of counseling, music therapy that are not currently paid for by the Office of Medical Assistance. It would also have made it more difficult for programs that provide in-home counseling to get reimbursed.

Members of the Delaware Valley Mental Health/Aging Advocacy Committee discussed this issue at their July meeting and then sprung into action. They began to call staff at the Department of Aging and the Department of Public Welfare. In addition, members began to write letters and send emails. The Pennsylvania Mental Health and Aging Coalition also got involved throughout the state. Members of the Senior Advocacy Team raised the issue before Secretary Nora Dowd at the Aging State Planning meetings and the Mental Health Planning Counsel.

The fast action resulted in the action being rescinded. Now there will be one billing code for counseling but that will include all the different types of counseling currently available.

Congratulations to those who participated. It would be great if all our issues were resolved this quickly!

Comments by the Director

Voting: More Important Than Ever Before!

Voting is still one of the important ways that older adults can assert their voices. Older adults continue to impress the general population and, in particular, elected officials who know that older adults are one of the biggest voting groups. Let's not stop now!

Despite the voting power of older adults, there are consistent efforts to cut programs or diminish services to older adults. This is not to mention the appalling lethargy that has kept our nation and states from developing new programs for the mental health needs of older adults. But let's not stop now!

In this close election, there will be an important opportunity to affect the policies that shape how older adults get served. It's time again to show that senior citizens are good citizens. And that they won't stop now.

Ask your neighbors if they are voting. If they need a ride there are many organizations providing them. Call us, if you need help: 215-751-1800, ext. 207 or 206.

Remember you need to be registered by October 4!

Domingo Nieves Begins Latino Outreach Project

Ola! My name is Domingo Nieves. I started to work as a volunteer for a month in the Aging Advocacy Team. On September 1st, I was hired as a permanent part of the team. I am a Latino outreach coordinator.

I have been very busy. I led my first Latino focus group at Kennett Square in Chester County in August. I am translating all the material from English to Spanish. Soon I will go to Washington to train the Latinos there in self-advocacy. I also helped in the Latino community with the petition drive to restore the cuts. My goal is to introduce this wonderful organization to my people not only in the Philadelphia area but in different parts of Pennsylvania, New York and Puerto Rico.

Thoughts on Working with an Older Adult Support Group

Seth Rosenberg is a student intern working with the Mental Health/Aging Advocacy Project. These are his thoughts at the conclusion of his summer program.

When I first sat down to sign up for my internship experience I had mixed feelings about this opportunity. I wondered what this experience would be about and whether I could be effective in whatever role I was placed in. On one hand I am getting my master's degree in Psychology and this seems like the obvious progression from classroom to field experience. However I feel at the same time that I am just a student with very little actionable experience, one who won't be recognized in the therapist role.

These feelings were quickly laid to rest as I jumped right into working with the Mental Health Association. As soon as I began counting my internship hours I was given the opportunity to show my capabilities. I went to SAT training, focus groups, helped with MHA projects and helped with counseling groups of senior citizens.

The group of seniors about which I am talking resides in Media, Delaware County. They attend the Hometown Senior Center, a beautiful and well kept program for area residents. We are so lucky to be able to go there once a month to assist them in helping them start and maintain their peer support group. They are a very diverse group which benefits from the assistance and information of each other. That is why this support group is not run by us but rather assisted by us. It is necessary to help others help themselves and help foster leaders within the group who can eventually take over those roles.

As a graduate student I feel like I didn't have any position to be speaking with these people as they out age me by sixty years in some cases. Initially I was afraid that someone would stick that fact in my face, "What do you know?" However what I found after attending a few meetings with these residents is that anyone, regardless of age who has the ability to hear and to listen will be looked upon as a helper and a friend. In fact, at times they look to me as if I know all the answers to their current issues/problems (no it is not true).

With my position more established among the residents I began to feel extremely comfortable in the sessions and realized that had a positive affect on my abilities. I felt more secure and confidant. I feel this way because their dependency on my input in the session has increased. But the question remains, how do you maintain a peer counseling group, when members of the group look to you rather than each other?Remember the old adage, "If you give a person a fish they will eat for a day, but if you teach that person to fish then they can eat forever".How can I get these seniors to never be hungry?

With the close of my summer semester and with the fall coming around the corner these are the questions that have come out of my sessions. As a student I want to feel that my skills as a counselor are being tested and used in the field. As the moderator for this group I want the group members to use their own skills and experiences to help each other. It is my hope that as these sessions progress the group members will realize the power that each of them hold in terms of helping others. With that discovery, the possibilities for our senior peer group will be endless and some of the problems that arise will begin to have attainable solutions.

Announcements

JOBS: Intercommunity Action, (Interac) a private, not for profit, health and human service agency is seeking a Housing Counselor to play an integral role within our Senior Center staff providing housing counseling and related services to the elderly and outreach to the community. Send your resume to: Interac, 6012 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19128, FAX (215) 487-3716, email: hr@intercommunityaction.org E.O.E.