Keeping Seniors Safe at Home
Staying in the comfort of their homes as they age is important to many older adults, but to successfully age in place, seniors need access to services and support to help them maintain their quality of life.
Elderly Safe-at-Home (ESAH) is a program provided by NYCHA at 11 developments for seniors that assigns an on-site social services worker to provide daily living support, crime prevention, crime victim assistance, and crisis intervention services to residents. Located in a dedicated apartment or office space within the designated developments, residents can visit the offices between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to receive referrals for services they need or get assistance with completing forms, making medical appointments, or navigating apartment repairs. Residents can also participate in workshops that address safety, healthy living, nutrition, home care, and benefits. The on-site social services workers also conduct home visits to meet with residents and ensure their needs are being met.
Boston Road Plaza in the Bronx is one of the developments that features the ESAH program – the majority of its approximately 275 residents are between the ages of 65 and 84. Celeste Finlay has been the social services worker at this site since December 2021; she previously held roles in social work with the NYC Administration for Children Services (ACS), at homeless shelters, and in public schools.
Ms. Finlay spends a lot of her time helping residents fill out applications, facilitating the repairs process, explaining the contents of their mail, and making sure they follow up on their medical appointments.
“I’m grateful to be able to help, because seniors need the help,” Ms. Finlay said. “A lot of times they’re left alone, some are going through dementia, and some have lost partners, so they’re grieving. You have to like what you do, you have to like the population you’re dealing with, and I have a soft spot for seniors. My favorite thing about my job is getting the opportunity to spend time with people who need time.”
During a heat wave over the summer, Ms. Finlay visited residents to ensure their air conditioners were working and they had enough water, and to see if there was anything else they needed.
“Ms. Finlay is awesome; she does a lot for the seniors,” said Laurenne Talbert, the resident association president at Boston Road Plaza. “She’s very helpful, very informative. I can’t say enough good things about her. She responds to the seniors’ cares and concerns. She helps everybody. I’m glad we have her.”
Other seniors who live in developments with the ESAH program have given feedback about their positive experiences and the assistance they’ve received, including a resident whose Social Security benefits weren’t enough to purchase food. She didn’t know how to apply online, and the offices were closed due to the pandemic. Her ESAH worker helped her apply for SNAP online, and now the resident no longer struggles with food insecurity. Another resident, who is hearing impaired, received a free cellphone with voice-to-text technology and captioning, thanks to her ESAH worker, who researched options to help the resident communicate when she is away from her apartment.
“The ESAH staff’s ongoing outreach enables the development of dynamic relationships that help to ensure residents receive the assistance needed to age in place in the homes and neighborhoods they have come to know and trust throughout the years,” said Marilyn Goulbourne, Bronx Social Services Administrator in NYCHA’s Family Services Department.
