Client Autonomy-Centered Care

Provides information, referral, and direct assistance with enrollment in SNAP, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, SSI, HEAP, MLTC, Access-a-Ride, and Reduced-Fare Metrocard programs through on-staff case managers and legal partnerships.

Serves hot kosher lunches on weekdays at the Lillian Wald Older Adult Center and provides meal delivery services to homebound older adults on the Lower East Side, combining nutritional support with social engagement.

Provides Home Health Aide (HHA) certification training and scholarships to individuals seeking careers in healthcare, supporting workforce development and access to employment in elder and disability care.

Provides comprehensive housing assistance including applications for affordable housing, eviction prevention, SCRIE/DRIE applications, homeless assistance, and landlord conflict resolution. Through the Housing Navigator Program, helped over 80 clients secure housing, including those with Emergency Housing Vouchers. Maintains a supportive housing residence for 22 formerly homeless individuals with on-site case management at Henry Street SRO.

Sponsors and operates the Masaryk Towers NORC to support older adults through coordinated health and social services, including on-site staffing, wellness monitoring, and referrals, promoting independent living and aging in place.

Operates kosher food pantries with a digital ordering system that distribute groceries and deliver food packages to eligible individuals, including homebound older adults and Holocaust survivors. Provided 199,000 pounds of food annually and offers monthly food pantry orders with scheduled pickups at the Lillian Wald Older Adult Center.

Provides daily social, recreational, and educational activities for older adults including exercise and wellness classes, art and creativity classes, field trips, meditation, pool, dominoes, bingo, board games, and educational talks on health and safety. Offers free in-person and virtual classes and hosts celebrations with special menus and live entertainment.

Provides non-medical home care services including assistance with activities of daily living, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and companionship through a workforce of over 800 home health aides. Services are delivered across all five boroughs of New York City and parts of Nassau County, offered in multiple languages including English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese, and funded through contracts with Medicaid Managed Long Term Care and managed care organizations to support aging in place.

Offers free legal consultation, assistance with legal forms, representation in Fair Hearings, and accompaniment to Housing Court through partnerships with local organizations and attorneys, supporting clients in accessing benefits and housing rights.

Delivers healthcare assessments, blood pressure and weight monitoring, home visits, health promotion classes, and referrals to health professionals through on-site Registered Nurses and case managers at the Masaryk Towers NORC and other service locations.

Delivers tailored case management, crisis intervention, counseling, benefits assistance, housing advocacy, immigration aid, and representation in Fair Hearings to elderly Holocaust survivors living below the poverty level. Provides monthly home-delivered kosher groceries, special Passover deliveries, medical care coordination, housing safety support, and regular wellness monitoring to nearly 100 survivors.

Operates as a nonprofit administrator and facilitator of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), providing enrollment, compliance, and management support to consumers and personal assistants at no cost. Services include statewide, multilingual call center support, onboarding, document collection, timesheet guidance, and access to payroll resources.

Played a foundational role in the creation of the CDPAP program in the 1980s, contributing to the development of consumer-directed personal assistance services in New York State.

Delivers training and guidance to personal assistants on CDPAP program rules, electronic time-tracking applications, administrative compliance, and payroll processes to ensure effective service delivery and regulatory adherence.

Leads advocacy efforts to reform New York’s guardianship system, increase state investment, improve social services safety nets, and promote equitable access to person-centered guardianship services through coalition-building and engagement with elected officials.

Conducts and publishes research including cost-benefit analyses, stakeholder needs assessments, legal resource guides, and policy roundtable proceedings to inform improvements in New York's guardianship and decision support systems.

Has generated over $10 million in net public savings through improved guardianship practices and state investment in nonprofit guardianship services, achieving more than a six-to-one return on investment.

Provides financial decision-making support to older New Yorkers who lack family or friend support through a pilot program that includes managing routine financial transactions, bill payment, documentation of financial preferences, and advocacy with institutions and agencies.