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HFA Benefits and Assistance Coordinators have provided direct individual casework services to needy Korean elderly and other low-income families to achieve self-sufficiency. Services include interpretation and translation; assistance in applying for government programs and benefits (i.e. SSI, SSA, food stamp, energy assistance, etc); and counseling and referral services. In order to promote clients¡¯ quality of life, sense of autonomy, and self-sufficiency, the program effectively advocates for the well being of our limited English Speaking Korean elderly by helping them access to social services, programs and resources. The program serves not only as an intermediary between government officers and clients, but also as a valuable community resource, which provides culturally and linguistically isolated Korean families with support and assistance for them to be able to accommodate their everyday lives in the US.

Home Care Program was established in 1989 in order to provide needed assistance to homebound Korean elderly. To respect seniors prefer living at home where they can maintain their dignity and autonomy, the Illinois Department on Aging provides assistance through the Community Care Program (CCP). CCP Home Care Program provides chore services to Korean elderly to allow them to live independently in their homes rather than in institutionalized living facilities. Our Korean homecare aides assist our Korean elderly clients with basic everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and most importantly, keeping them company. The homecare aides visit the elderly anywhere from once a day to once every couple of weeks. They also provide monitoring of clients¡¯ health and safety. Currently HFA maintains monthly average of 55 homecare aides serving over 300 clients per month.

 

On August 1, 2000, HFA launched the Golden Diner¡¯s Program in an effort to relieve hunger, provide nutritional needs, and offer socio-cultural support for Chicago¡¯s Korean seniors. The obstacles the elderly face to prepare meals are all too real. The Golden Diner¡¯s Program uniquely addresses those obstacles by providing easily accessible, nutritional, Korean entrees on a daily basis. Through the lunch program, HFA helps seniors overcome alienation by providing opportunities to find social support, camaraderie, and a deeper sense of community. The Golden Diners Program provides lunches from 11:00-12:30, Monday thru Friday. The lunch program offers carefully planned, nutritious, and culturally familiar meals. Each lunch consists of rice, soup, side dishes, milk, and fruit, but menu is different everyday to offer variety. This program is funded by the Chicago Department of Senior Services.
 

Senior Apartment Neighborhood Connections Program is funded by the Community Development Block Grant from Chicago Department of Senior Services to empower English-limited and culturally isolated Korean residents in senior apartments in the City of Chicago to identify their needs and possible solutions for the wellbeing of their neighborhood and community through participating in one of the three volunteer teams: Better Communications Team (BCT), Better Living Team (BLT), and Better Empowerment Team (BET). The program was initiated in 2004 with the seed grant from National Council on the Aging.

As one of the participating organizations of Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act, HFA recruits and trains older adults to foster and promote part-time opportunities in community service activities for unemployed low-income persons who are age 55.