The Spanish Speaking Elderly Council Raices,

About RAICES RAICES was founded in 1978 by retired Hispanic senior citizens who saw the need for an organization which would provide services, educate and organize the Latino, minority and low income aging community in the borough of Brooklyn. RAICES’ mission is to respond to the unmet needs of the Latino, African American and low income community and seeks to improve their quality of life through advocacy and the direct provision of targeted services with work across the generations and a particular emphasis on the needs of older adults. RAICES developed an “ethnic ramp” concept towards improving access to services for older adults of color. In this model, culturally and linguistically appropriate services are used as tools to improve access and increase utilization of services for this community. The organization currently operates nine direct service sites, seven in Brooklyn and two in Queens. This includes seven senior centers, a case assistance division and a licensed outpatient mental health clinic – the first geriatric outpatient mental health clinic in Brooklyn. The organization provides over 107,000 meals per year. Across all sites the organization provides over 3,200 participants a year with such additional services as health and wellness activities, case assistance and management, educational classes, individual and group psychotherapy and psychiatric medication management assistance.