(El Barrio SHARE – Supporting Natural Helpers with ADRD Resources and Education)
Silberman Aging is excited to announce that the El Barrio SHARE project has received a Manhattan Community Award Program (MCAP) grant from Borough President’s Gale Brewer’s office. The Co-Principal Investigators for El Barrio SHARE are Dr. Caroline Rosenthal Gelman and Dr. Nancy Giunta, two of our Directors at Silberman Aging.
Background:
By 2050 Latinos will account for 18% of older adults in the U.S. This growth leads to approximately 1.3 million Latinos with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Latinos face a greater risk of ADRD than other ethnic groups and are under-diagnosed and underserved due to myriad real or perceived barriers to social and medical services. Timely detection of ADRD reduces costs of care and increases quality of life for people with ADRD and their caregivers.
About El Barrio SHARE:
A coalition of 8 organizational partners in East Harlem established El Barrio SHARE, a multi-dimensional intervention that will…
- develop ADRD educational materials compatible with
health literacy needs of Latinos in East Harlem - recruit and train Natural Helpers, such as store clerks and hairdressers
who interact regularly with Latino older adults and hold
positions of trust and influence, to provide information on ADRD - link older adults to support and treatment by referring those
who need services to a single entry point staffed by a
bilingual, bicultural social worker.
The MCAP grant will enable Silberman Aging to pilot a natural helper outreach and recruitment plan, and conduct interviews with 10-15 potential natural helpers to gather information on how to maximize recruitment and retention of natural helpers. This preliminary data will be used to understand the feasibility of El Barrio SHARE and lay the groundwork for implementing Natural Helper supportive programs more broadly.