Aging with Care, Connection, and Community

As Older Americans Month reminds us, older adults across Los Angeles are navigating rising housing costs, health challenges, isolation, and the growing difficulty of getting through daily life safely and with dignity. Jewish Family Service LA’s Senior Services teams work every day to help older adults remain connected, supported, and independent in their own homes and in the communities, they call home.

JFSLA operates several senior centers and community service locations throughout Los Angeles, including the Jonah Goldrich Multipurpose Center (Mid-City), the Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center (West LA), the West Hollywood Comprehensive Service Center, the Bar Center at the Beach (Venice), and the Valley Storefront Senior Center (Van Nuys).Together, these sites provide transportation, meal programs, wellness activities, counseling, case management, volunteer companionship, and other support designed to help older adults continue living safely and independently.

Helping Older Adults Stay Independent

For many older adults, the first connection to JFSLA comes during a moment of vulnerability. A hospital social worker may be worried about a patient returning home alone. A family member living out of state may not know how to help. A senior may suddenly realize they can no longer safely drive, shop, cook, or manage mounting paperwork and bills alone.

For Lika Litt, LCSW, Program Director of the Jonah Goldrich and Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Centers, the work often begins with an urgent phone call.

“Sometimes a senior or a family caregiver calls and says, ‘Something has changed, and we can’t do this alone anymore,’” she said. “That’s often where we begin.”

JFSLA social workers take time to understand the whole person — their health, living situation, emotional well-being, and assessing their diverse needs.

Support can mean transportation to medical appointments, meal delivery, counseling, benefits advocacy, home visits, caregiver coordination, or helping make a home safer after a fall. For many seniors, these services are not simply conveniences — they are lifelines that help prevent isolation, hospitalization, or homelessness.

Lika recalled one older adult who we’ll call Nora. Nora was living alone while undergoing cancer treatment and reached out feeling overwhelmed and unable to manage daily life. A JFSLA social worker helped connect Nora to healthcare advocacy, counseling, caregiving support, and financial assistance. Over time, Nora stabilized, entered remission, and returned to participating in activities at the senior center like chair Yoga and Art Therapy.  

“Seeing someone regain stability and hope is incredibly meaningful,” said Lika.

More Than Services — Connection and Community

At the West Hollywood Comprehensive Service Center, Program Director Nina Reinis, LCSW, sees how deeply older adults not only need services, they need human connection.

“Person-to-person relationships and connections are very important to our clients,” she said. “Sometimes people just need to know someone is there for them.”

The center, located at Plummer Park, offers social services, activities, meal programs, volunteer support, and partnerships with community organizations designed to create a welcoming environment where older adults feel seen, valued, and connected.

One meaningful initiative is the Connect Program, which pairs volunteers with older adults residing in West Hollywood who are experiencing isolation. Some volunteers accompany participants to appointments or activities. Others spend time visiting, talking, and building friendships that often last for years. The program has become a powerful source of emotional support and stability for many older adults, helping reduce isolation while strengthening confidence, connection, and overall well-being.

Preventing Crisis Before It Happens

JFSLA’s homeless prevention work happens quietly, behind the scenes, before a crisis escalates.

Social workers regularly help older adults facing utility shutoffs, eviction notices, food insecurity, serious health challenges, or the risk of homelessness. Staff and volunteers assist with paperwork, public benefits applications, legal referrals, housing support, and navigating systems that can feel impossible to manage alone. For many older adults living on fixed incomes or without strong support systems, a single setback — a fall, illness, missed bill, or hospitalization — can quickly place their housing, health, and independence at risk.

“Helping people stay stable before a crisis is a huge part of what we do,.” Nina explained.

Many older adults today are living in a difficult financial middle ground — earning too much to qualify for certain public programs, but nowhere near enough to comfortably afford caregiving, rent, utilities, and rising living costs in Los Angeles.

Without strong community support, even a temporary crisis can unravel the stability someone spent a lifetime building. That is why the work of Jewish Family Service LA and its social workers is so vital: helping older adults remain safe, housed, connected, and treated with dignity during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

“Our social workers show up every day for older adults facing isolation, crisis, illness, and uncertainty,” Lika said. “They are often the steady presence helping seniors hold onto their housing, health, independence, and dignity.”

During Older Americans Month, JFSLA honors not only the resilience and contributions of older adults, but also the importance of showing up for one another — with compassion, care, and connection when it matters most.

For more information about JFSLA’s Senior Services please call (877) 275-4537 or email services@jfsla.org.