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Advocates Seek More State Funds So Elderly New Yorkers Can Age At Home

ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - It's budget season in Albany, and advocates were in the capital Tuesday to ask that more funding go towards helping aging New Yorkers stay in their own homes.

AARP,  as well as a number of volunteers say programs that help keep New Yorkers home are better than expensive and mostly taxpayer funded nursing homes. Beth Finkel, State Director for AARP New York, says it will also help family caregivers.

"Meals, delivery, transportation services, just those little things that really make the difference between someone being able to age in place or have to move into institutional care," Finkel said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed $15 million go towards this issue, but advocates want $25 million in the budget.

Finkel says it’s about dignity, and letting people age in the homes and communities they have built.

"You and me and all of us…either we've cared for a loved one, or one day we probably will be caring for a loved one," she said. "One day we're going to need someone to care for us."