Concerned about parents, children, relatives or yourself now that you're retired?

Just call the
       UFT RETIREE
          SOCIAL SERVICES
                PROGRAM
                      and we'll help. 

The UFT Retiree Social Services Program provides free and confidential advice and, if needed, professional counseling about a variety of personal matters. Working with a variety of outside agencies, our experts can assist you with a wide range of concerns and decisions affecting you and your family members.

This service is available to you wherever you live in the United States.

A full-time geriatric social worker, two gerontologists and a staff of trained caseworkers are available to help you deal with concerns about matters such as:

• Retirement Communities and Senior Care Facilities and Residences
  Housing options for older people are growing and include more creative living situations. The UFT Retiree Social Services Program can discuss your options and counsel you on your future plans.

• Short-Term Counseling and Referral
  If you live in the New York metropolitan area and need assistance with a problem or decision, you can make an appointment for counseling. After the meeting, we can make recommendations or, if you decide you need more extensive counseling, we’ll refer you to other outside professionals.

• Support Group Referral
  Many community support groups are available to help you deal with various stressful situations such as the loss of a loved one, certain health problems and the demands of being a care-giver, just to name a few. We can put you in touch with the one that is most suitable for your needs.

• Telephone Reassurance
  We can make weekly telephone calls to keep in touch with homebound and isolated retirees as well as retirees living alone or recovering from surgery or illness.

• Advocacy During Hospital Stays and Discharges
  If you are hospitalized, it is important to know whom to contact if you have a problem or require special services. We can provide the information you need, act as an advocate on your behalf and tell you how to get home care and all the follow-up services that you or a family member might need for a full recovery.

• Home Care Referral
  The decision to get home care to remain independent in your home is an important one. We can refer you to licensed, dependable home care agencies that will provide the right assistance for you.

• Nursing Homes
  If you, a parent or a family member needs more medical care than can be provided at home, a skilled nursing home may be the next step. When to start looking for a nursing home, what to look for and how to choose are just a few of the many questions you might need help answering. Also, you will want to know how to apply to a nursing home, how the admissions process works and what to expect after admission.

• Hospice Referral
  Hospice is a specialized care program designed to meet the special needs of both terminally ill patients and their family members. The goal of at-home hospice care is to keep patients among familiar faces and surroundings for as long as possible. Intermittent short-term inpatient care also is provided at hospital hospice units.

• Senior Victims of Crime and Elder Abuse
  If you or a family member become a crime victim, we can put you in touch with whatever help you might need. Special bureaus in the district attorneys’ offices are trained specifically to help senior crime victims. This includes crimes such as elder abuse and financial exploitation and neglect by caregivers.

• Elder Law
  We can refer you to an elder law attorney for help with long-term care and estate planning for retirees and parents as well as trusts for developmentally disabled adult children.

RETIREE SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM
UFT Retiree Program Department
52 Broadway, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10004

You've worked hard to earn your retirement and you should enjoy it. But sometimes issues arise. If that happens, the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter can help.