Lyndon B. Johnson photo

Statement by the President Announcing Program in Aid of Elderly Citizens of Low Income.

August 28, 1965

PRESIDENT JOHNSON today announced a Federal program aimed at lifting 5 1/2 million elderly citizens out of poverty.

The first stage--$41 million in four projects-will open a new front in the war on poverty.

The President pointed out that a third of all Americans over 65 are living in poverty; the average income of these people is under $1,150.

"The aged poor have maturity and experience to offer," he stated. "They are eager to help themselves and others. We are going to use this rich, untapped human resource to help others less fortunate. In turn, it will enable these elderly people to find the dignity and usefulness they seek."

The initial five-point program will employ 17,600 elderly Americans of low income. They will help attack the poverty of 140,000 of the Nation's most cruelly deprived-neglected babies, retarded children, the homebound sick, and the bedridden and isolated elderly.

One of the new projects is a "Foster Grandparents" program in which the elderly will be "substitute parents" for neglected children in institutions. Within a year it will reach into all 50 States at a total cost of $10 million. It has two parts:

--2,000 of the elderly poor will work with 5,000 neglected infants living in institutions. Twenty-two projects in 20 States are starting immediately with $2.7 million in grants.

--Another 2,000 will help care for 2,000 older children in institutions. These projects will be funded in about a month.

The remaining three projects are:

--10,000 will be trained as home health aides to bring help and comfort to the bedridden sick and disabled.

--1,800 will start work this fall in both urban slums and rural hollows, caring for children from broken homes.

--2,400 will be trained this fall to meet the needs of mentally retarded children.

Additional programs recommended by a task force on problems of the aged and under consideration include: employment services for the elderly with skills, work opportunity centers for the elderly who are unable to compete in the labor market, home maintenance service, employing the elderly poor to assist in repair of substandard dwellings inhabited by the elderly; a food program; special services to the elderly poor in rural areas; and an "outreach" service to help the elderly understand and use the assistance available to them.

The new and future programs will be funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity. They will be operated by local community agencies and institutions in close cooperation with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The $41 million will be distributed as follows:

--$10 million total to the Foster Grandparents programs,

--$6 million for services to mentally retarded children,

--$5 million for the project to help children from broken homes, and

--$20 million for the home health aides.

Note: The statement was released at Austin, Tex.

Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Announcing Program in Aid of Elderly Citizens of Low Income. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240789

Filed Under

Categories

Simple Search of Our Archives