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Date: February 14, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Moya Benoit Thompson (202) 401-4541

AoA Establishes a National Policy and
Resource Center on Women and Aging

Fernando M. Torres-Gil, assistant secretary for aging in the Department of Health and Human Services, has announced the awarding of approximately $1.1 million for a three-year cooperative agreement with Brandeis University to establish a National Policy and Resource Center on Women and Aging.

The National Policy and Resource Center on Women and Aging will serve as a national focal point for issues related to older women. The center's goals include 1) identifying issues and expanding knowledge on income security, health, caregiving and housing as they relate to older women; 2) educating and providing technical assistance to the aging network, which consists of 57 state offices on aging, 670 area agencies on aging, 228 tribal organizations, 5,000 senior centers, and over 25,000 service providers, women's organizations and policymakers; 3) promoting greater national understanding of contributions, concerns and needs of America's older women through education and outreach.

"I am pleased to announce the establishment of this center, which is part of the Administration on Aging's ongoing Older Women Initiative," said Torres-Gil. "The concerns of older women, who will make up the majority of senior citizens of the future, are concerns to all of us. Whether it be our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, daughters or friends, older women are a vital part of America and contribute so much to our nation's well-being and stability."

The center will conduct research, provide policy analysis to those working in the fields related to older women, and provide training and technical assistance to the aging network, women's organizations and policymakers. It will also develop a community education campaign designed to educate millions of women, age 45 and over, about the availability of critically needed resources and information.

The National Policy and Resource Center on Women and Aging is a partnership of the Florence Heller Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, the American Society on Aging, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the National Black Women's Health Project.

For additional information, please contact Dr. Phyllis Mutschler, project director, 617/736-3863 or Marla Bush at the Administration on Aging, 202/619-3996.

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