To kick off this year’s celebration of Older Americans Month, yesterday ACL issued grants totaling $1.4B to help older adults recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded through the American Rescue Plan, these grants to the aging services network in every state and territory will help provide meals and other nutrition services, support family caregivers, help older adults connect and engage with others to reduce social isolation, re-open senior centers, and help residents of nursing homes resolve complaints. They also will help accelerate vaccination of older adults by funding the aging service network to conduct outreach and education, assist people with scheduling and attending vaccination appointments, and connecting people to in-home vaccination services.
This fact sheet from the White House has more details about these grants, and President Biden’s Proclamation on Older Americans Month includes more on how the American Rescue Plan puts the needs of older Americans at the forefront of our country’s path to recovery. Grantees can find answers to many questions about the funding in this FAQ addressing programmatic questions and this updated Fiscal FAQ, which addresses ARP-specific questions and also updates information provided about Older Americans Act funding.
2021 Theme for Older Americans Month
The theme for Older Americans Month this year is “Communities of Strength.” It was selected to highlight the resilience and strength of older adults and the role they play in keeping our communities strong. In particular, it recognizes the strength and resilience older adults have shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have persevered through the disproportionate challenges they have faced to survive -- and even thrive, and they have played an important role in helping our nation weather this crisis. The funding distributed today will provide key services and supports as we continue to recover.
Throughout the month, ACL will share resources, as well as stories that celebrate older Americans. We’ll also share some of the ways ACL, our partners across the federal government, and the aging services network are working to empower older people to live independently, participate fully in their communities and recover from the pandemic.
Join the Celebration!
We’ll keep you posted on upcoming events and share highlights from celebrations around the network through ACL Updates and on Facebook and Twitter. You also can find ideas for celebration activities, social media graphics and more at ACL’s Older Americans Month website.