The Aged: A Study of the Philosophy of the Social and Community Services Department of the New York City Housing Authority in Relation to Provision of Services for Low Income Aged Tenants in Public Housing in New York City
Abstract
This study will deal with the New York City Housing Authority’s philosophy of service to its elderly tenants and also with services for the aged in low income public housing in New York City. Studies about the elderly are of interest because of the growing number of people surviving into old age. The nature of our population is undergoing an unusual change with increasing numbers of people at both extremes of the life cycle. Thus, we are developing an increasingly dependent population. Yet we can ask ourselves whether most of the 16.5 million Americans over sixty-five reported in the United States Census of 1960 are dependent or need to be, if given proper services.The problem for most elderly is how they can remain independent and continue to lead satisfying lives when as a group they are faced with pressing economic, health, social, and housing problems. This study is focused on the housing services provided to the low income elderly in New York City, but it will imply that with more adequate housing at rentals the elderly poor can afford, a number of their other problems are also ameliorated. New York City was chosen as the area to be studied because the New York City Housing Authority is the largest local housing authority in the country. New York City and New York State have among the highest percentages of elderly in the nation (10.1 per cent) in proportion to their total population. In fact, of the 16.5 million Americans over sixty-five, reported in the 1960 Census, a total of 1,687,000 persons over sixty-five lived in Hew York State. When the definition of elderly is lowered to age sixty, as it is in determining eligibility for admission into New York State-aided low income public housing for the elderly, “New York State in 1960 had almost two and a half million persons over sixty years 2 of age, about half of which (sic.) were in New York City.
Subject Area
Social work
Recommended Citation
Teichberg, Arlene Rosa, "The Aged: A Study of the Philosophy of the Social and Community Services Department of the New York City Housing Authority in Relation to Provision of Services for Low Income Aged Tenants in Public Housing in New York City" (1965). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30308744.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30308744
