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Americans are guaranteed basic rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But a look at the older generation of this country shows that many elders do not have an acceptable quality of life, the opportunity for personal satisfaction, nor the freedom to pursue these rights.
What is advocacy?
Advocacy is any action taken by an individual or a group on behalf of an issue. It is a struggle for the control over one’s own destiny. Through advocacy, we educate ourselves and others concerning our rights. Advocacy is the act of speaking up for oneself and others in order to gain our entitlements.
Why elder advocacy?
The Older Americans Act, passed by Congress in 1965, outlined a national policy on aging that included the rights to:
• an adequate income;
• the best possible physical and mental health;
• suitable housing;
• full restorative health and social services;
• opportunity for employment without age discrimination;
• retirement in health, honor and dignity;
• pursuit of meaningful activity;
• efficient community services when needed;
• immediate benefit from proven research knowledge;
• freedom, independence, and free exercise of individual initiative.
It is clear, 39 years after passage of this act, that too many elders still do not have these basic rights.
While poverty among elders is growing again and so many elders still live in deprivation, many of the programs that we now have are being threatened by government cutbacks. Older people themselves should have a major role in decisions concerning the services we receive and the programs that deliver these services.
The French writer Montaigne said, “I speak truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare more as I grow older.”
Advocacy begins when one decides it is time to speak the truth – not to be silent any longer, but rather to try to change things for the better. Once you decide that you are ready to work on an issue, there are many different courses to take.
Advocacy is a vital part of our democratic process. Our system of government is structured to be responsive to constituents who speak out. In the strongest sense, advocacy is action taken by or for the powerless to restore to them a measure of control over their own human condition.
Advocacy is: informed people; responding to issues; collective action; individual action; democracy in action; directed at decision makers; and power.
This article is used by permission from the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans, Inc. and first appeared in their newspaper, “The Older American.”
Editor’s Note: According to Elder Services’ Executive Director Robert P. Dean, there are items in the Governor’s proposed budget that are not good news for elders and which need advocacy:
• Elder Lunch (the statewide nutrition budget) has a proposed statewide increase of just $13,000. At this level Elder Services of Berkshire County’s Meals on Wheels/Nutrition program could expect a total increase of less than $500, which would cover the cost of less than a hundred meals. Last Elder Services prepared, delivered, and served more than 250,000 meals - an increase of 5,000 meals from the previous year.
• Home Care services and Council on Aging funding would remain at basically the same level — there would be a combined increase of slightly more than 1% — even as the need for these services continues to grow. These community and home care services are vital to many elders, and together with Meals on Wheels, provide many of the supports that allow Berkshire elders to continue to live in their own homes with dignity and independence.
Dean added that as the Governor’s budget is reviewed by the House and Senate, Elder Services will continue to advocate for appropriate levels of funding so that elders will be able to receive the services they need. To read more, visit Elder Services’ website at www.esbci.org.