The Lincoln Square Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) is a cluster of 15 high-rise buildings on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. Designated a NORC because it has more than 500 residents over the age of 60, this community offers many challenges, as well as opportunities, to serve older residents.

Located between the Hudson River and Lincoln Center, it is a low-income community in the midst of a middle- and high-income neighborhood. "On the one hand, many of our older residents need a lot of support," notes JoAnne Ricco, AdvantAge Initiative liaison. "On the other hand, there are a lot of services and resources we take advantage of and partner with in the surrounding community."

And when they looked at the AdvantAge Initiative data, "The message jumped right out at us," says Ricco. "It was obvious what we needed to do."

In Lincoln Square, more than three out of five (63%) people age 65+ reported having attended church, temple or another religious activity in the past week, the most of any of the AdvantAge Initiative communities. "That's great!" notes Stephanie Pinder. "We know that older people in the NORC are tied to the church, and this can be a great way to reach out to them. And we suspect that many who don't attend church as often as they'd like to are homebound. Since we know where our older residents live, we can help the church reach out to them and help them reconnect."

On April 4, Esther Zuckerman, AdvantAge Initiaitve Project Manager at VNS, presented AdvantAge Initiative survey results to a group of local clergy. Among the issues they discussed regarding older people in the Lincoln Square NORC:

	One out of seven (14%) say that in the past 12 months they or another adult in their household cut the size of or skipped meals because there wasn’t enough food.
	Almost half (48%) did not socialize with friends or neighbors in the past week.
	One out of seven (14%) do not know whom to call if they need information about services in the community.

These findings highlight the needs of NORC residents as well as some opportunities for partnerships and collaborations. "First of all," says Pinder, "if 63% of older people go to church at least once a week, the church is a natural place for them to get information about available services." Yet only 2% said they would contact a religious institution for information. Does this mean that religious organizations do not generally have information about services that older people need? Or does it mean that older people simple do not think to turn to these organizations for help?

Says Ricco, "It's probably both so we're working at it from both ends. Clergy can remind their congregants they are a resource for and connection to us, and we can help reconnect homebound NORC residents to their churches. It's a great partnership that benefits everyone!"

* This population figure refers to the number of people age 65+ in this community as it was defined by the AdvantAge Initiative liaisons.