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Latino Age Wave: Promising Practices Emerge in Two States

Five years after Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) embarked on an initiative to identify opportunities and gaps in services for U.S. Latinos, it has tested programs in two states and found innovative strategies for capacity building, advocacy and best practices for empowering and serving the critical necessities of the fastest growing segment of the U.S. aging population.

Latinos 65 and over face special linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic needs due partly to this under-served group’s high poverty rate, low educational attainment and low rates of qualifying for public benefits, health insurance and Social Security, among other significant distinctions.

This report is a five-year look at how far we’ve come and which directions would be most strategic for helping U.S. Latino seniors. Among areas needing critical support: nonprofit capacity building; policies and programs to eliminate healthcare and income disparities; social isolation due to a lack of linguistically appropriate and culturally proficient help; caregiver respite and support, since they tend to provide more intensive unpaid services for Latino seniors, and barriers to housing, transportation and other services.