By Maya Meinert
While working in the Seattle area as part of the mayor’s special task force on African-American elders, Karen Lincoln spent a lot of time talking to seniors and those who provided services to them. Her job was to advise the mayor on the needs of this population of older adults, and in learning about this community, Lincoln discovered a wealth of information and a deepened respect.
“It was through these interactions that I became aware of how dynamic our seniors are, how much they have sacrificed and how hard they have worked to support our communities,” she said.
But when she moved to Los Angeles, Lincoln, now an associate professor at the USC School of Social Work and associate director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, didn’t find the kind of organized group she was part of in Seattle, where she helped to develop a social service agency to serve homebound, frail and low-income African-American elders so they can remain in their homes and communities.
That’s why she founded Advocates for African American Elders at the school’s Roybal Institute on Aging, which recently received $150,000 in funding to engage in community outreach and inform policymakers and opinion leaders on healthy aging issues impacting African-American seniors in Los Angeles.