Celebrating progress for District seniors

It has been said that a budget is a set of priorities put in numbers. Show me your budget, and I’ll see what you value. For over 65 years, AARP has advocated in a non-partisan way for Americans 50 and older to have what they need to live their best life at any age, choosing where they want to live, and never being discriminated against because of their age, gender or financial status.

Earlier this year, we asked District residents to join us in calling on the Mayor and District Council to keep their promise of making DC an Age-Friendly City. And you made your voices heard! Hundreds of you sent emails demanding a stop to budget cuts for essential senior supports. Your efforts have paid off!

The District Council recently passed its FY2025 budget and with your assistance, AARP DC was able to help provide seniors with access to the services they need. From housing stability and financial assistance to keeping seniors connected, AARP DC worked hard to advance priority programs that support District seniors, achieving these victories:

• Retained funding for the Home Care Partners' Homemaker program, and preserving the program’s FY2024 funding levels in FY2025, which includes maintaining $2 million in DACL local funds and $350,000 in federal dollars.
• Restored $60,000 for VIDA Senior Services in FY25. VIDA Senior Services is the only DACL funded program serving primarily Spanish speaking older adults from Mexico and 20 countries of Central and South America.
• Prevented $21 million cut to Access to Justice Grant. Worked alongside Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) in their efforts to lobby Chairman Mendelson and the Council to restore the Mayor’s proposed budget cuts of $21.211 million from the Access to Justice Grant in the OVSJG Budget. In addition, AARP DC fought for the inclusion of an additional $100,000 for LCE to hire a new Hotline Attorney and Social worker. This will help strengthen core services including social work access and legal representation to help keep seniors in their homes.
• Restored a $2.5 million cut to housing counseling and other HUD services. AARP DC advocated for the full restoration of the cuts to the federal the Department of Housing and Urban Development Block Grants for housing counseling and preservation. Housing preservation includes foreclosure representation, tenant advocacy, wealth preservation through life planning, and securing public and VA benefits. While the Council did not fully restore the funding, the Council restored $2.5M of the grant, which means increased support and resources to advance housing preservation for District residents.
• Fought against flat funding for senior transportation services that was proposed by the Mayor. This resulted in the Council enhancing the Connector Card program for seniors by $247,000 in FY25, which will work towards eliminating the existing backlogs and service gaps.

By adding your voice, you made sure the District Council and Mayor knew we were united in fighting for protecting seniors and the services they need to live and age as they choose. Rest assured, our efforts won’t stop here. We will continue to work to ensure the programs are implemented in a way that best serves District residents, their families and caregivers.