PARK HEIGHTS, MD – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski and Congressman Ben Cardin (both D-MD) visited Har Sinai House in the Park Heights neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore today to announce a federal investment of over $706,000 for important services for seniors. Park Heights is a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), or a neighborhood where seniors have “aged in place” and want to stay in their homes as long as possible.

These funds will be used by Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc (CHAI) to expand services – including transportation, preventative healthcare, group activities and the services of social workers, doctors and nurses – to additional Baltimore City seniors.

“I believe that Honor Thy Mother and Father is a good commandment to live by and a good policy to govern by,” said Senator Barbara Mikulski. “While organizations like CHAI are fighting for seniors in Baltimore, I am fighting for seniors in the U.S. Senate. Seniors should be able to stay in the communities they know for as long as possible. That’s why I’ve worked so hard to support the NORC program and stand up to help seniors age in place. I will continue to fight for seniors and deliver for seniors in Maryland and across the country.”

“Seniors need and want to stay independent for as long as possible. I am pleased that this additional federal funding will enable NORC to continue a program that has become a nationwide model in providing seniors with assistance in housing and other support services so they can continue to live independently,” said U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a member of the Ways & Means Committee.

Marc B. Terrill, President of THE ASSOCIATED states “I am very proud of the work CHAI and our other agencies have done to create an exemplary support program for seniors in our community. Caring for seniors continues to be a priority of THE ASSOCIATED. I am grateful to Senator Mikulski and Congressman Cardin for their dedication and determination to ensure that seniors in our community are cared for. I expect only great things from this program as it continues to grow and develop.”

This year, Mikulski and Cardin secured $706,304 in federal funding to help an additional 1,200 seniors in the Park Heights neighborhood. Funding will be used to create senior-friendly apartments, expand transportation services, provide emergency medical systems like pendants that link to emergency providers, and offer meals and other activities for area seniors.

In 2002, Mikulski and Cardin fought for a federal investment of $1 million in the Park Heights neighborhood. This funding was used for senior transportation, emergency medical systems and case management in apartment buildings where seniors live.

At today’s event, Senator Mikulski also announced her intent to hold Senate hearings in Baltimore and Montgomery County this summer in order to learn the best practices of these NORC programs, which could be used as a national model for senior care. Senator Mikulski is the Senior Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Aging.

Senator Mikulski is also visiting a NORC site in Silver Spring, Maryland today to announce a federal investment of almost $1 million for a Montgomery County NORC program.

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