Our Blog

Our Blog

Grandparents Stepping Up to Assist Grandchildren with Virtual Education

  As a young child growing up in New Jersey, I recall spending countless summers in the sandy woods of Wall Township with my maternal grandmother, Carolyn Holland. On her screened-in porch, we spent hours playing such card games as Pitty Pat, War and Casino. This card shark, with less than an eighth-grade education, showed […]

The COVID-19 Crisis at NJ’s Long-Term Care Facilities

We’d like to thank guest blogger and NJFA friend Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, NJ’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman, for her blog post. By Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, NJ’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman The COVID-19 crisis in long-term care facilities is an unprecedented national tragedy. Around the country, tens of thousands of vulnerable residents of nursing homes and assisted living […]

Caregiving by the Numbers

See resources at the end of this blog, including information for caregiving during COVID-19.  A Caregiving Report by AARP’s Susan Reinhard and Lynn Friss Feinberg revealed that in 2017, about 41 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided an estimated 34 billion hours of care to an adult with limitations in daily activities. Support included […]

Testimony given by NJFA Executive Director Melissa Chalker to the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee, 1/27/2020

  The New Jersey Foundation for Aging’s Executive Director, Melissa Chalker, was invited to testify at the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee on January 27, 2020. The committee includes Chair Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Vice-Chair Shanique Speight and members BettyLou DeCroce, DiAnne C. Gove, Angela V. McKnight and P. Christopher Tully. This was […]

Aging and happiness

(With apologies to beloved game show host Alex Trebek.) Happy New Year! Let’s start 2020 with a “Jeopardy”-esque answer, and you provide the question. Answer: “According to multiple research studies, our happiest days occur at this age in life.” Cue the theme music… OK, time’s up. The correct question? “What is old age?” Surprised? You’re […]

6 “Must-Do”s This Fall

By Mason Crane-Bolton   6 “Must-Do”s This Fall   Fall is a wonderful time of year: fall strolls, warm cups of tea, falling leaves, and it’s the perfect time to get things done! Whether you have a to-do list already, or you’re planning only on basking in the cooler season, we have some items you should make room for […]

The Importance of Programs

By Mason Crane-Bolton   The Importance of Programs There are many programs available for eligible older adults, but not everyone is signed up for them. Some people aren’t aware of the types and specific programs available and others may know the programs, but don’t believe they’ll qualify for assistance. In today’s blog post we’ll take […]

Medicare Fraud. How We Can Fight it.

Today we bring you a blog post from guest blogger and NJFA friend Charles Clarkson, Project Director of the Senior Medicare Patrol of New Jersey. By Charles Clarkson, Project Director, Senior Medicare Patrol of NJ   Medicare fraud is estimated to cost American taxpayers $60 billion a year, monies that are siphoned off and are […]

Proposed SNAP Cuts-What You Need to Know

By Mason Crane-Bolton   At NJFA we are very disturbed by the effects of this proposed cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP (food stamps). New Jersey is directly and especially impacted by reductions to SNAP. In our high-cost state, reductions and restrictions to SNAP would eliminate tens of thousands of […]