More than one third of community-dwelling adults age 65 and older live alone. Many of these older adults have complex health needs. Additionally, many depend upon others for assistance and support—and their loved ones may not live nearby. These circumstances contribute to the disproportionate effect that disasters have been shown to have on older adults. The majority of the victims of the 2018 California wildfires were reported to be over age 70.

    Update To This Blog, September 30, 2019 (this update authored by Keri Lipperini, Director, Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs) On September 26th, ACL visited one of our Falls Prevention Program grantees making a positive difference in the community!

A new issue brief has been released entitled "What I Want my Doctor to Know About How Arthritis and Chronic Pain Affect My Everyday Life" under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).

ACL awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to the Oasis Institute for $3,800,578 annually to establish a National Volunteer Care Corps.  The Oasis Institute, in partnership with the Caregiver Action Network, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and Altarum will foster innovative models in which volunteers assist family caregivers, older adults or persons with disabilities with non-medical care in order to maintain their independence.

ACL recently awarded seven grantees for innovative projects that will enhance the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of nutrition services programs provided by the national aging services network. The grants total $1,748,404 for this year with a three-year project period. Through this grant program, ACL aims to identify innovative and promising practices that can be scaled across the country and to increase the use of evidence-informed practices within nutrition programs.  The seven organizations receiving grants and their projects are:

By Greg Link, Director of the Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services Grandparents play a special role in families. They pass along traditions, wisdom, and culture to future generations. Increasingly, they also provide loving and stable homes to their grandchildren. Nearly eight million children are raised in a family led by a grandparent. In a third of these families, there are no parents in the home—the grandparents are fulfilling that role.

Two new grants have been awarded for the

The number of family caregivers, including grandparents who are raising grandchildren, is significant and growing. They are the backbone of our country’s caregiving system and supporting them is critical to making it possible for people of all ages and abilities to continue to live in their communities. Caregivers provide support, but they also need support.