New Haven Independent

Meet Janet Perez the Bilingual Community Education Specialist for the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut (AASCC).  Perez was promoted to this position as a result of her successful work as an information counselor where she made inroads into the Hispanic consumer and provider groups in the region.

“In my role as Bilingual Community Education Specialist my goal is to unite all communities, while focusing on Hispanic elders,” said Janet Perez. “My objective is to achieve the Agency on Aging’s commitment of building a voice for Spanish speaking older adults and those with disabilities.”

“Janet’s commitment to serving older adults with dignity and respect and her compassion for all people is evident to all who work with her,” said Beverly Kidder, AASCC Aging Resource Center Director.

Perez has developed a coalition of service providers that serve Hispanic elders entitled Project H.O.P.E. (Hispanic Outreach Program for Elders). H.O.P.E. began as collaboration between two organizations, and now includes 47 community providers, both for-profit and non-profit.  The coalition meets regularly to identify and address the unique needs of Latino elders and to connect organizations best positioned to meet those needs.

In addition, H.O.P.E. provides training programs for members to ensure that providers have current, accurate information on topics of concern to seniors.  H.O.P.E. sponsors community programs for consumers designed to educate and celebrate Hispanic elders.  This year, H.O.P.E. sponsored its first Senior Cultural Festival where older adults of many cultures came together to share arts, crafts, song and dance of their various countries of origin. Perez is the chairperson of H.O.P.E. and facilitator for all of its committees.

In addition, Perez represents the AASCC in the community as part of the Agency’s commitment to building a voice for Spanish-speaking older adults. She serves on agency committees and participates in activities of community agencies. She was recently asked by Casa Otoñal to serve as a judge for the Primavera, by the Uconn Health Center to help identify family caregivers, by CAHS to participate in food stamp outreach, and by MAYU to serve as a member of its conference planning committee.

This year, on behalf of AASCC, Perez will chair and organize a domino tournament for older adults.  Within the Latino community, dominoes are a big part of the culture. The tournament plans to draw a lot of players from the Fair Haven community of New Haven and will be a featured part of Senior and Disability Expo that will be sponsored by AASCC and the City of New Haven Department of Elderly Services on May, 15 2009.