Part of my job during the summer was to interview some of the Project FIND seniors for their annual charity calendar. Here are some of what they said:
A) Sonia and Amelia
After retirement, many seniors can feel that their skills are no longer worth anything. But Amelia, a senior who represents the Time Bank NYC volunteer skills exchange program in Project FIND senior centers, says that seniors who take part in the Time Bank have their lives enriched, because they realize that “their giving has a value.”
Amelia, who herself says she has grown in confidence from working in the senior centers, says: “In difficult economic times, it is a cheap way of getting things done, by using skills and time as a currency.”
Her manager, Sonia, said that the partnership between Project FIND and Time Bank really works. She chose to work with Project FIND because it was “a good fit and enabled integration into the community.” She is proud Amelia, who is a passionate advocate for the Time Bank project.
B) Pat
Pat lived on 81st Street for 40 years. Her husband died in 1986. Her rent increased and eventually it became too much and she decided that she was going to have to leave. She made plans to move in with her niece in the suburbs. But two weeks before she had to move out she received the call from Project FIND letting her know that she was being offered a studio apartment in Hargrave House. The timing couldn’t have been better.
Pat was a winner in the Apartment Beautiful contest at the Hargrave. She has furnished her apartment from items found in dumps, on the street and in thrift stores, most famously a large stalk. She keeps things peaceful and simple and does not own a television.
Pat likes to read, paint and attend dancing lessons at Project FIND’s senior centers. Pat is well traveled and described a trip she took to South Africa as transformational. “Experiences change you” she says.
C) Sam
“You only have 24 hours in the day, and you don’t know if you’ve got tomorrow. If you do, it is a plus.” These wise words belong to drumming legend Sam, aged 90.
He grew up in the Bronx during the depression and took drumming lessons for just 25c for four lessons, which were being held by the WPA as part of the New Deal. This investment unlocked a huge talent in Sam and a great gift to many people who have enjoyed Sam’s music over the years. Sam is a well known jazz drummer and he has played in the top clubs in the city, including Gaslight Club, the Metropole and the famed Garage in Greenwich Village. Musicians that Sam has played alongside include Tony Parenti and Dick Wellstead (in a trio at the Metropole), Milt Hinton and Leonard Gaskin, to mention a few.
Sam has written a book on the philosophy of life, and managing your health, money and attitude as you age: “Keep Swinging! Approach Your Senior Years Without Skipping a Beat” and imparts his wisdom on how to have a long healthy life to all those who are lucky enough to speak with him.
Sam lifts weights every day, and has a good breakfast and lunch, but does not eat after lunch. He says the biggest thing in his life is always doing the same thing, never getting confused about what he wants to do.
Sam was the winner of the first Talent Show held at the Woodstock in July 2010. Sam thought that it wouldn’t be fair to enter, as he is a pro, but he was told that if it wasn’t just drumming, he could enter. He put together a routine that included ribald and rhythmic skitting jokes about seniors, and couldn’t believe it when he won.
D) Israel
He went to see a social worker in the Woodstock when he had a nasty cough and she told him to go to hospital where lung cancer was diagnosed. In 2004 he had a lung removed. He also has kidney problems, but he is determined that he does not want to die – and wants to carry on living. He walks everywhere which is why he thinks he has recovered well.
He loves living in Woodstock, and has turned down offers to move elsewhere. He gets satisfaction from helping other people. Being in Woodstock gives him a sense of worth, and helps him remain independent.
E) Anne – Housing Specialist and Community Issues, liaison to Senior Citizens
Anne is a life long community activist who has dedicated her life to helping others and fighting against inequality. She also was once a stand up comedian. Anne (or AC as many people call her) conducts weekly housing consultation and referral sessions for seniors at the Hamilton Senior Center.
Anne is a firm believer that it is important not only to focus on the negative problems that people bring to her, she also gives out leaflets about free concerts, and brings newspapers in for the seniors to read. However Anne never ignores a problem that someone presents to her. She always knows who to contact and how to get a problem solved. She conducts on-site housing inspections, when necessary, and continually follows cases through to make sure people attend their appointments. She says: “I want to see a finished product” and she says it is a wonderful feeling when people call her and say “AC, it is fixed” or “it worked out.”
Anne has been politically activity spans over 50 years, starting with the Civil Rights movement, Women’s movement, Peace and the Tenants’ movements.
She has administered various non profit organizations and was instrumental, in the early 70s, in the establishment of the first battered women’s shelter in the metropolitan area. For the past five years, Anne has been actively campaigning to shut down the operation of illegal hotels.
She describes herself as “a tenant, leader, organizer, activist and motivator.” Her basic philosophy is: “Treating people the way you want to be treated.”
F) Annie
Annie was referred by her church to Project FIND to get flu shots. She didn’t know it was a senior center at first. But on her visit she saw that there was lots going on and got involved. She joined the Qi Gong and Tai Chi classes first. Then she joined in with the singalong, and now also does ballroom dancing and salsa. People had told her that senior centers were demoralizing places, and asked why she was going there, but she did not find this to be the case at Project FIND and she loves the activities.
Annie used to be an accountant at the UN. In 2007 she developed pains in her back and found that the exercises from the classes she attends with Project FIND have helped her improve her back pain. The doctor agrees that this exercise has helped.
She has met a lot of her friends through Project FIND and finds Donatas very charismatic and magnetic as a dance teacher.
G and H) Era and Paw
Era has attended the Clinton Senior Center for two years. She gets involved in a bit of everything. She runs the Clinton Boutique from 9-3 everyday, selling clothes to seniors to make money for Project FIND, and often helping homeless people by giving them warm clothes that have been donated.
Era gets involved in Karate, Tai Chi, Ballet, Yoga and Sing-a-long. She also attends rallies in support of senior causes at City Hall. She has got three of her friends to join the classes now. She also tells them that the food is good.
Paw is a very active member and attends every class that they have in the Clinton Senior Center, and kits herself out in an outfit that appropriate to her hectic pace of life. She says the center gives a lot of benefits to her health and she doesn’t just want to sit at home. She says she used to be lazy and now she is active and strong. Paw has “learnt a lot” and is “so proud” of herself. Ballroom dancing is her favorite class, because of the movement of the body and the way the music soothes.
I) Julie - Homeless In-Reach team worker
Julie is the warm and welcoming face of Project FIND to many homeless seniors who sleep in Port Authority, Penn Station and other nearby locations.
She is a social worker at the Woodstock Homeless In-Reach, a project that provides breakfast, lunch, warm showers, clothing and referrals to homeless seniors. Julie helps those who turn up and makes referrals, including to medical support, but also to hairdressers (there is a local barber who provides free haircuts to the homeless from Project FIND by the trainee barbers).
She says her job is make the homeless people feel welcomed, and “to keep it a little light too” because “she is not a miracle worker.” She “loves the people” and says they “like the open door approach, when many people have had the door shut on them.”
People often come to New York thinking: “This is the Big Apple and everything is available – the American dream” and then they end up homeless. She says that the homeless are: “good people who have had bad luck.” Julie says that doing this job makes her appreciate her own apartment.
J) Bernard
Bernard was living in Woodstock for 6 years, before transferring to the Hargrave for a more independent and flexible lifestyle, including being able to cook for himself. He sees this as part of progression towards his dream of living in a house one day. “You’ve got to have some dreams” he says. Prior to Woodstock he was in a treatment facility. He went into a shelter for two months before coming to Woodstock.
He likes to exercise, to read and to practice his religion, Islam. He would like to spend more time with his family. He wants to own his own home and a business.
Many of Bernard’s family lived to a ripe old age, so he is hoping to, too. He likes to eat healthily and is “a sociable guy who gets on with everybody.”
Bernard said the “Project FIND has always been there for me.” Social workers helped him move into Woodstock and to make the transition into Hargrave. “Had I not come to Woodstock and made the transition to Hargrave, there’s no telling where I would be. Project FIND has been wonderful for me”
K) Ruth
Two years ago, at the age of 69, she lost her job as a designer of recruitment advertisements due to the recession, fell into a funk as a result of this. She said the centers are a “God send”. She sometimes brings her boyfriend along to the dance classes too, he is in his 80s. Ruth is also a watercolour professional artist, and has displayed her work (of urban landscapes, often street corners) in many galleries, and has sold many of her pieces at auctions. She is looking to re-launch her career as an artist, but is taking this slowly.
She enjoys the lunches and recommends these to her friends.
L) John
“You are only as old as you feel” John
John likes Woodstock as he has a big room. He worked for Newark Sanitation for over 7 years, but was involved in a serious accident where the refuse truck ran him over. A series of events led to him becoming homeless. He says New York has more resources to help people who fall into hard times than Newark has, but he doesn’t want to depend on anyone. One of his aims in life is not to have to do this. He wants to work again, and says sitting around isn’t good.
John finds the Woodstock a nice place, and he loves playing pool, but has some competition from the other members. He does a lot of exercise – push ups and walking.
He would like to go back into education and do his GEDs and it is his dream to be a computer technician. He said: “I want to be more productive in society. I want to look out for my own self.” But he said you have to “have higher education to do this.” John hopes that he can achieve his dreams
M) Richard
Richard helped start a Starbucks program, called the after shift program, where Starbucks donate unsold donuts to Woodstock and the Coffee Shop, and he has many other innovative proposals for Project FIND.
He got involved in the campaigning a few years ago: “when they were shutting down all of the meals on wheels and the centers in the Bronx.” He said, of the politicians: “when I talk to them, I talk from the inside, and they listen!”
He said more centers are now under threat of closure, just as there are more and more seniors. His view is that life gives to you when you are younger and takes things away from you when you are older. He says to the politicians and budget setters: “As life takes things away from people, don’t take the senior centers away from them too.”
Richard hopes to hold a musical in Woodstock, to be performed by the residents. He recently presented the successful Woodstock Talent Show.
N) Helen
Helen was an original volunteer with Project FIND right at the birth of the project and is now also a resident.
She used to attend rallies with the original Executive Director. Hotels were being used for the homeless, so the original Project FIND team decided to convert them into high quality places for homeless seniors to live and receive services – a “senior complex” as she calls it – “where you have it all”. Having the social workers on site was really important – “it was a must”. There were many people going into retirement without a pension, so something needed to be done.
Helen walks around with her bag advertising Project FIND, and tells people about the work that Project FIND does. She is concerned that services might be lost now: “What we have is here today and gone tomorrow.” She says that young people are no longer street fighters and blames this on computers and cellphones making people’s lives too easy, not having to make plans in advance.
Helen says that Project FIND helps people live with dignity, and the project is needed because: “Things happen to people in life, even professors. And if you fall on hard times, you’ll be glad you had a Project FIND.”
She fell on difficult times herself, when she lost her job just before the qualifying period to receive a pension, so was reliant on Section 8 to get somewhere to live. She moved to Hargrave in 2002 into a studio apartment, and is now moving to a one-bedroom so that she has room for her family to come and visit her. She attends the yoga classes, and has been practicing yoga for over 30 years.
O) Sylvia
Sylvia is a former nurse, and misses working with people, which is why she enjoys attending the senior centers and meeting lots of different people every day.
She now attends many classes including: Spanish (she misses not speaking Spanish, as she used to talk to her patients in the language), horticulture (she always liked plants and finds this very educational), knitting and crochet (good for the nerves, they sit and talk about different things whilst knitting), and arts & crafts. She also attends for lunch.
Why go? “Keeping active. Your brain is moving, your body is moving. Everyone is friendly.” She has met a lot of friends through the classes. “Socialization is better than being at home. You live longer and feel better.”
Her dream is to have a home in the countryside with an acre of land (she doesn’t know how big an acre is, but knows that this is what she wants.) She would like there to be flowers and vegetables in her garden. She would also like to go back to school and study to work in mental health.
As a nurse she encouraged her patients to learn. She does the same with other seniors. She walks a lot, which is her exercise, and likes to travel.
P) Joe
Joe is 80 and a former private school math teacher, but retired without a pension. He moved to Hargrave in February 2007. He found out about Project FIND from Senator Tom Duane.
For 40 years, Joe lived in a large apartment in Greenwich Village. As rent control was phased out, it became unaffordable. He has been approved for Section 8 and moved to Hargrave “because it was a rent that he could afford.”
Joe has recently had open heart surgery, and has several oxygen cylinders in his room. His income is social security, but he does some work as a model (most recently for organic t-shirts) and as an actor (MTV recently featured him in a popular slot called Silent Library).
If he had not moved to Hargrave, he said that he would be out on the streets. “I couldn’t pay my rent, and had a huge landlord with no sympathy for the situation.”
His advice to the young is: “try to develop some sort of spiritual life” and “get educated to the best of your ability and work hard to do whatever you want to do”.
Future plans? “To keep enjoying the rest of my life.” He still works out at the gym on the Silver Sneakers program. He has lunch at the senior center.
Q) Dr Mira B
“The patients trust us, so they will come back” Dr Mira B
Dr B has been working out of the medical center at Woodstock since 2002. Project FIND provides the space and Medicaid pays for the service. She is from Lutherian / Mt Sinai, and works with Maria (nurse) and Anne (social worker).
She says that she provides an “old fashioned GP with a black bag” service, including frequent home visits and outreach to the residents of the Woodstock.
Many of the residents and homeless who use facilities at the Woodstock come to see her with skin infections, high blood pressure, diabetes, mental health problems and substance abuse. She says that around 50% of the people who live in the Woodstock would have no doctor if they didn’t have this on-site service as they wouldn’t go out and visit another one. She says: “Many of the residents are formerly homeless, have no friends and family, and this is all they have.”
Her team knows the patients very well and sends them birthday cards. They provide a valuable holistic service to patients, helping them to prevent falls, to maintain a healthy diet, and to ensure that they have all the support they need in place to live a healthy, worry free life. Dr B says this service surely saves the Government money.
R) Clarence
He has been in and out of hospital. He broke his shoulder because he wasn’t taking some medication properly. He also has high blood pressure.
He grew up in South Carolina, driving tractors and trailers for 25 years in a steel plant, where he worked with his brothers. He moved to New York (Long Island) when the job moved. His children still live down south and drive tractors and trailers.
His plan for the future is to get his health back, and to be able to do the things you can only do when you have your health. He would like to go back to work, and do something working with his hands, maintenance perhaps.
Clarence was in hospital for over a month, after social workers at Project FIND told him to go there when he was unwell. He says it is great that he has a secure room at Woodstock to come home to: “Where you can get your head together”. He says that it is “better than coming out of hospital and having to live on the street, when you have to move on all of the time.” It “gets him through” thinking of getting well and having a place to stay and support from social workers. He said: “They will be there for you.”
He would like to move to Hamilton or Hargrave in the future.
S) Shirley
Shirley was living on West 91st Street and Broadway, in a very small studio apartment for 30 years, but she hated living in such a small place. When the person from Project FIND called her to say they had an apartment for her: “I said, Oh wonderful!”
She occasionally takes part in the bingo in the senior center, but mostly spends time cooking, seeing her friends, painting, knitting and crocheting. She is a member of the Jewish Women’s Group, Hadassah, and the True Sisters. She loves the city, and her favorite place in the city is her home.
Her advice and legacy to future generations is simple: “Be happy with what you have” and “Do the best that you can.”
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