WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, July 12, over 700 people from across the country, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and national human rights leaders will launch the Caring Across Generations campaign: a movement to protect and expand our nation’s support system for the aging and people with disabilities at a time when the need for care in America is skyrocketing. The campaign is supported in part by the Institute for Policy Studies.
As America’s “age wave” begins this year—with one American turning 65 every eight seconds—Caring Across Generations seeks to transform long-term care for care recipients, care workers, and families who struggle to find and afford quality care for their loved ones. The campaign aims to protect what we have—Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security—while creating what we need: two million new care jobs, training and protection for workers, new paths to citizenship for immigrant workers, and measures to make care more affordable for struggling families.
Tuesday’s day-long “Care Congress” is a town hall-style event featuring personal testimonies by older adults, people with disabilities, home care and domestic workers, and their children and families about the crisis in care facing millions of families. The day’s activities will also include “Medicaid Matters Across Generations,” a 300-person forum on Capitol Hill co-hosted by Senator Jay Rockefeller. This forum will highlight the devastating effects of the proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and call on Congress to stand with the millions of seniors and working families who depend on Medicaid and Medicare to meet their daily health care needs.
Over the next 12 months, the Campaign will hold “Care Congresses” in more than 15 U.S. cities. Caring Across Generations is led by a coalition of more than 70 organizations representing women, people with disabilities, seniors, workers, students, and caregivers.
Download the electronic press packet.
WHAT: The Inaugural ‘Care Congress,’ a national town hall meeting on care in America, and launch of Caring Across Generations, a new movement to create quality, dignified care for all
WHO: Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, 700 care givers and recipients from across the country, members of Congress, labor, faith and community leaders
WHEN: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 9:30 am–5:30 pm. Plenary Session from 9:30–11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC