“We are grateful for the strong conviction and commitment that Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, Senator Frank L. Lautenberg, and Senator Robert Menendez have demonstrated to serving older adults throughout New Jersey, said UJC executive vice president Max L. Kleinman. “Securing this dedicated funding for seniors during this year’s appropriations process was extremely challenging. These elected officials are very tuned in to the needs of our community and really care about the individuals whom we serve.”

On Dec 26, the Omnibus Appropriations package was signed into law containing earmarks for critical aging-in-place initiatives for five New Jersey federations, totaling more than $1.5 million. For UJC MetroWest, there is $478,721 contained in the bill, secured through the efforts of Congressman Frelinghuysen with the support of Senators Lautenberg and Menendez.

“This money would support vital services for residents across our State. These funds play a critical part in ensuring the health and well being of New Jerseyans,” said Lautenberg.

“I believe that Aging in Place programs like LIVE engage older adults in their community and help them live longer, healthier lives. It is good to invest resources in programs like this that increase the quality of life for seniors throughout New Jersey,” added Frelinghuysen, who was responsible for the earmark.

“Our aging seniors are a treasured component of our society and I am pleased that I was able to help secure funding for the UJC MetroWest NORC Aging in Place demonstration project, which is providing a setting for seniors to remain independent, active, healthy, and engaged in their community,” said Menendez. “Their well-being is testament to the success of this program and will serve as a model so that potentially many more seniors may benefit in the future.”

The UJC MetroWest pilot program “Parsippany LIVE” has had great success directly serving more than 700 seniors in Parsippany and is a state-wide model for other aging-in-place initiatives. This funding will allow the project to expand into other communities with significant concentrations of older adults. MetroWest CARES, the inter-agency Committee Addressing Resources for Eldercare Services, will oversee the project’s further development and growth.

“This is great news!” said Arthur Schechner, chair of MetroWest CARES. “This potential program expansion is particularly important for New Jersey, which is currently home to nearly 1.5 million adults over age 60. By 2030, we anticipate 2.5 million people over age 60 in our state, with 25,000 or so in the MetroWest community. This funding gives us a head start on meeting that challenge.”

“The vast majority of older adults (approximately 90 percent) want, or by necessity, will remain living in their homes, even as they grow frail,” said Merle H. Kalishman, chair of the Community Relations Committee. “This initiative supports the aging-in-place community through the coordinated delivery of more cost-effective health and supportive services, increased service availability, greater cooperative health promotion, crises preventions, and the facilitation of the development of new human, financial, and neighborhood resources for the benefit of the older residents.”

This “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community” (NORC) project was initially funded in 2004 through a one-year federal demonstration grant from the Administration on Aging. With support from UJC and local foundations including the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement, the Grotta Fund for Senior Care, the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany Foundation, and most recently, a State of New Jersey grant, the project has been sustained for three years.

“LIVE offers older adults an opportunity to participate in a program that makes their community a better place to age,” said Karen Alexander, the project director. “Whether they take a class, attend a Healthy Monday workshop, lead an activity, serve on the Advisory Council, or we help them connect to senior-friendly employment, their lives are made richer. We are delighted that this funding will enable UJC and our partner agencies to adapt this successful model to serve additional communities.”