Program Aims To Help Aging Latinos in California Access Health Care
An initiative in California aims to help the state's growing population of elderly Latino residents overcome barriers to services, such as health care and housing, HealthyCal reports.
Background
Older Latino individuals often have trouble accessing health care and other necessities because of language barriers and isolation. They also can face challenges related to:
- A poor knowledge of health issues;
- Minimal understanding of savings or retirement;
- Transportation issues;
- Unaffordable housing; and
- Unfamiliarity with technology.
Program Aims To Address Issues
The Latino Age Wave Program, launched by Oakland-based Hispanics in Philanthropy, aims to address the challenges that older Latino individuals face in accessing health care and other services.
Elizabeth Hernandez -- program manager for Latino Age Wave, said it has partnered with several not-for-profit groups in California that have connections to the Latino community. The program has provided each group with two-year, $50,000 grants that expire in July 2015.
The grantees include:
- Central Coast Center for Independent Living in Salinas, which used its grant to launch the Aging Latinos in Action group;
- Centro Community Hispanic Association in Long Beach, which used the funding to train 26 health educators to reach out to older Latino individuals in the area;
- Latina Breast Cancer Agency, which offers free breast cancer screenings to 2,300 women in San Francisco County;
- Latino Council in San Rafael, which is using its grant to develop a community advisory team related to aging services; and
- San Jose's Building Skills Partnership, which is using the grant to reach out to janitors in California, about 90% of whom are Latino (Perry, HealthyCal, 9/15).