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This will be too long. The Ark City has been a pioneer in the relatively new field of problems of the aging. Eleven years ago in the previous administration the mayor's advisory committee for the Aged was Sargon ised and charged with the improvement of conditions affecting older persons in New York City. The committee achieved its initial purpose focusing attention on the problems of the aging and now the committee itself has asked that it be decided on its work continued through the community council community council has assured me that it will assume fully the responsibilities which were within the province of the advisory committee. I'm happy to participate in this the first meeting of the new citizens committee on aging and share with you my views. I will continuously look to this committee for guidance and advice. One of the profound social changes of our time has been the increase in man's lifespan and the rapid growth in the number of the aging both of these phenomena will continue. What has already happened between one thousand nine hundred nineteen sixty the population of the United States doubled in those same sixty is the number of those aged over sixty five increased five times I don't want a cloud of this talk with a great many figures but it might be well to keep in mind what this has meant in our own city. Back in one thousand twenty three percent of the city's residents were aged sixty five and older and today this group numbers approximately three quarters of a million persons This figure will continue to rise old age can be a blessing if they later years of life are secure and comfortable and burden if they are mocked by poverty ill health or loneliness for many older persons security comfort happiness and personal dignity depend on community action it is a sad sight when an aged person trying to find some little assistance to meet his needs is caught up in the web of public apathy. Fortunately we know it must not happen in our community we have done much to see that it doesn't happen. New York City has pioneered I have already noted in the showing to its older citizens but peculiarly those in the lower economic groups the chance to live out their lives without suffering loneliness or discomfort in support of IT services to the aged the city expends more than one hundred million dollars a year of this huge sum the city pays sixty percent federal and state grants speech supply about twenty percent How is this money spent what do our older citizens get for it about sixty seven million dollars a year goes for health and medical care in the absence of significant federal and state effort the city government has not hesitated to develop appropriate medical services in response to specific needs we help provide care involuntary hospitals sanitariums convalescent homes homes for the aged and nursing homes we operate to outstanding chronic disease hospitals bird Escola and go water memorial where you can find the latest Ed dances in medical science more than half of the patients in these hospitals sixty five years and open one of our programs goes by the name of public home infirmary care. In this effort beds have been set aside in six of our hospitals to care for those aged who do not require intensive hospital treatment but need special Nisshin care and rehabilitation. If you were to visit one of these hospitals you would see old people regaining the use of their legs learning again to flex their fingers overcoming the ravages of crippling diseases. Our department of hospitals provides nearly half a million days of home care service to the aged under this plan patients are discharged to their own homes but continue to receive medical treatment as needed in addition welfare to plop and serves our older indigent residents with medical attention in the home. The city is now completing the conversion of the Form an appliance a hospital in the Rockaways into a public home for the indigent aged this facility will provide shelter privacy and comfort to those who are unable to maintain their own private homes the agent benefit from the city's medical research program the Health Research Council a municipal agency has recently approved applications for a half million dollars in grants for research projects and diseases prevalent among the aged and the work will help in the attack on hardening of the arteries coronary disease neurological disturbances and lung congestion My City Housing Authority has pioneered in providing apartments specially designed to make it easier for old people to get around and do their work we now have about one thousand four hundred such apartments completed or under construction. An additional four thousand three hundred are in planning these apartments sorry quipped with non-slip tile flaws and bathrooms electrical outlets high on the wall ranges with special safety features larger radiator units to give more heat and up placed so as to give maximum exposure to sunlight. Twenty four hours a day care center is directed by the Department of Welfare in cooperation with voluntary agencies provide educational cultural and recreational programs professional counseling outings and some of camps three additional such centers Shockley to be opened we have home make up programs for Agent persons who cannot handle the full responsibility of taking care of their own homes housekeepers help with household chores and marketing and neighborly older citizens to remain in their homes who might otherwise have to go into institutions many communities pay for foster homes which housed children we have done something really novel in our city we located foster homes for the aged more than a thousand persons are now in such homes and there will be more on the fun stuff home office many advantages first the home environment is generally to be for the furred to an institution Moreover it costs the city less to support an aged person in a home Third it enables us to concentrate staff categories of personnel where they are most needed. The Department of Parks operates six Golden Age centers attendance at these centers ranges from fifteen hundred to twenty six hundred a week. Here old people engage in ox practice reading games and good times a section these Golden Age centers are growing in popularity financial assistance through our welfare department maintains the destitute and provides supplementary aid to those aged whose incomes are insufficient to meet essential needs I take pleasure in reporting these facts to you the one hundred million dollars is well spent but what we are doing is not enough as the length of life increases and as the number of aged in our midst rose we must plan plan carefully for the future we must look ahead consider needs still unmet we must free evaluate and expand our efforts taking advantage of new scientific knowledge and advances in social services are aged citizens have problems of such scope and depth that only the full scale cooperation of all levels of governmental private organization and individual activity can solve them I therefore propose to you a new program of action this program is motivated by two long range objectives one to create the conditions which will keep the aged physically and mentally sound economically self-sufficient independent active members of the community as long as possible to to provide the appropriate facilities assistance and services which will take care of their needs when they are no longer able to do so themselves health and medical care. Older Persons are entitled to the highest quality of medical care possible irrespective of income status such care should cover the broad spectrum of examinations and treatment at home in doctor's offices in clinics or institutions sufficient long term institutional facilities of all types homes for the aged nursing homes special hospitals and sections of hospitals operating under the highest standards must be provided. The development of a comprehensive medical care program is essential and under that program one and therefore directing the energy five Mental Health Council and the Health Research Council to develop a master plan for the care of the long term chronically ill this plan should review the appropriate roles of public voluntary and private agencies should map out the specific services needed to maintain the elderly in their own homes where ever possible. Should show the number and types of beds needed in institutions the best sites for these beds and the estimated costs for carrying out this plan over a ten year period. Second I am instructing the Community Mental Health Board. To extend to the aged the system of mental health consultation services through can contract the will or other arrangements these services should be made available in nursing homes homes for the aged and day centers third and adequate supply of long term low interest loans is necessary for the construction or renovation of voluntary old age homes with specific emphasis on expanding infirmary facilities for the chronically ill and disabled action to achieve this and is required by the state and city governments in order to strengthen the role of the voluntary agency the city except its responsibility for attaining this objective I'm asking the hospital Council of Greater New York to develop a plan to assure a supply of long term low interest loans for this purpose and I shall recommend to state officials joint city state action for. I have acted to assure the best quality of care and proprietary nursing homes both the city administrator and the commission a commissioner of Investigation have made recommendations for stronger supervision and control of nursing home operations these recommendations are now being implemented there will be no compromise with the highest possible standards and we are now paying the nursing homes and nothing to assure such standards fifth Congress should a man the Social Security Act to set up a comprehensive medical care insurance program for the aged a plan should cover the costs of hospital care as well as preventive and diagnostic services and should be no requirement of a pompous test for the aged who need medical services next is housing and living arrangements. All levels of government working closely with voluntary and private groups must act to increase the supply of housing for the aged at rentals they can afford as I have pointed out the New York City Housing Authority has provided a substantial number of apartments designed specifically for the aging of the new apartments and planning one of every six is designed to meet the needs of older people we must also make a strong effort to increase the quantity of housing for the aged in middle income brackets and therefore directing the housing and redevelopment boy to list for me all available sources of funds for housing the aged and to make the provision of suitable apartments for the aged a specific part of the city's middle income housing program. The board should explore and report back to me the extent to which we may require that develop develop is a publically assisted housing design and set aside a portion of their housing units for the aged This would include housing development with Title one and Mitchell assistance social services. Many older persons who would otherwise be sent to institutions can be maintained at home by the use of counseling education recreation and related help social services must be available to all the aged irrespective of their financial status I propose the following one. The day Center program of the department of wealth and must be extended in cooperation with voluntary agencies in addition to the educational and recreational programs now provided the functions of these centers should be expanded to deal with the health counseling and adjustment needs of older persons the city of New York is to is prepared to provide more funds for this purpose when the state of New York appropriates the necessary matching funds to which is committed under the law I shall asked state officials to give us this cooperation. Second many older people the set with problems often find themselves at a loss where to turn what to do they are shouted from one agency to another and needs frequently not understood this would frustrated a young person we can imagine what it must mean to an aged man or woman with little strength over his office given the complex maze and public voluntary and private services it is generally essential certainly essential rather that some way be found to make these services easily available to the aged who need them I'm seeking from the community council of Greater New York recommendations to strengthen and expand information and referrals services for the aged. The objective is to assure that older citizens may swiftly and effectively obtain help with their individual problems with a minimum of red tape and a maximum of courtesy and consideration third the use of foster homes for the aged is now beyond the experimental stage and increase in the number of foster homes by fifty percent is politically desirable I am instructing the commissioner of welfare to put fair prepare for me a plan to achieve this objective such expansion would enable some of the elderly who would otherwise be in institutions to remain in the community forth I strongly favor helping the aged in their own homes whenever possible city now for vides a variety of housekeeping services they are not however uniform. I am directing the commissioners of hospitals and welfare to review existing services and determine whether they can be combined into a single consolidated program this review should also indicate whether these services should be extended for those aged having marginal incomes but who do not qualify for public assistance maintaining the income of the agent a major problem for large numbers of our age it is how to maintain a decent standard of living. Under current conditions many cannot meet the costs of essential goods services Social Security retirement benefits and earnings from employment pension funds and public assistance represent the mage's sauces of income for the aged they have for one I recommend that Congress amend the Social Security Act to do the following raise the minimum benefits for they present an adequate thirty three dollars a month increase the whole scale of benefits across the board so there are more in line they are more in line with living costs for the raise the amount that can be earned each year without reducing Social Security benefits present system favors people with income from interest and dividends since no limits stop placed on income from these sources Second I am directing the manpower utilization Council which I recently appointed to explore the nature of existence job possibilities for our older citizens determine how many job prospects can be improved and advise how counseling and training programs can be used to in lives job opportunities and increase the skills of older workers the program is a broad one it is a program of action we will do all we can to obtain federal and state cooperation where appropriate but even if the other levels of government do not respond the city will not evade its responsibility these efforts will cost money they will mean increase tax burden I believe the people off the pad to have them municipal government undertake these responsibilities this is my plan for nine hundred sixty one I propose to implement immediately all parts of it that we can control locally in coming years ah program will be modified to meet new conditions I shall report to you the progress periodically. I've said God goes high I hope that you will agree with me these goals should never from this day forward be low nothing less than the most enlightened policies for our age at citizens is good enough for New York City I hope I may count on your cooperation in achieving these objectives. I said earlier today that in my opinion this would be a start meeting and I think it is what the mayor has said and I know I speak for all of us when I say that we are very grateful for this dynamic positive program and I am sure that the man will be able to count on this Citizens Committee and. For our whole hearted support in every progressive step that is going to take under this program for the benefit of the owner people in the city of New York.