As recently released by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Latinos constitute the largest minority group in the country – five years earlier than projected. This population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate of 5.7% each year. Included in this growth is an increasing number of Latino elderly with a variety of special unmet needs.

Not only is the Hispanic population the largest minority group and most rapidly growing segment in the country, it is also the group most in need. In New York City alone, there were 50,000 Latinos age 60+ in 1970, which as of today has grown six-fold to 300,000. Within the next 25 years, statistical projections bring that number closer to half a million. To make matters even more challenging, according to the NYC Department of Aging, two out of three of all Hispanic elderly live below or near the poverty line, and many suffer from malnutrition and live in isolation. In the past decade, 65% of Latino elderly reported incomes of $10,000 or less compared to 23% reported by whites and 52% by African-American elderly (New York Center for Policy on Aging Study).

Source: US Administration on Aging.

Despite the critical demand for additional and more effective public and private funded programs for our seniors, the resources currently available for Latino elderly are significantly insufficient for adequate care. In New York, for example, city funding is provided to nearly 340 senior centers, but only 16 of them are considered Latino sponsored. Given the fact that Hispanic seniors comprise 20% of the City’s elderly population, we should expect at least 68 Latino sponsored centers in existence. Therefore, there is an obvious shortfall of at least 52 senior centers just in New York City. Again, this is just one example of the inadequacies faced by the Latino elderly.

There is well documented evidence to support that the Latino elderly participation levels in nutritional programs through a Senior Center, home-delivered meal program e.g. Meals on Wheels, or Food Stamps is minimal. This is partly due to the fact that many are not aware of such benefits, and those that are find it difficult to overcome cultural, language, and overt discrimination barriers. Although Latino professionals and organizations, such as the Latino Gerontological Center, are committed to the task of improving the quality of life for the Hispanic elderly, it has been very challenging with such a dearth of resources. We need to remind everyone that today’s Latino elderly were once active members of the workforce who contributed and sacrificed tremendously towards the greatness of America. These important members of our society are systematically denied appropriate services by many community-based organizations, as well as public and private foundations. Worst of all, funding from all possible sources has not been fairly distributed according to the growing needs of the Latino elderly.