Question: What is the cost to restore the community outreach program for Senior Services of Alexandria? (Councilwoman Alyia Gaskins)
Response:
The Area Agency on Aging within DCHS has had a subcontract agreement with Senior Services of Alexandria to provide outreach to residents with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). This funding was provided by ARPA dollars initially to support COVID vaccination efforts.
The funding supports two part-time Outreach Coordinators, employed by Senior Services, who engaged older Alexandrians with Limited English Proficiency. Specifically, programming has been focused in Spanish and Amharic speaking communities. If funding were restored, these positions would continue working with older Alexandrians in the marginalized LEP communities. Their activities would include:
- Presentations related to benefit eligibility and other resources
- Translating senior health topics from English into the Spanish and producing materials of interest
- Weekly outreach to ALIVE’s food hub participants
The cost to continue this work is $42,000 to help pay for the staff employed by Senior Services.