Aging Well
One of our core missions is Social Services. We believe everyone deserves to live well.
Our main goal is to select and offer guidance suited to your current needs.
We understand that to age well, live independently and with dignity is so important. It’s about getting the right support for your individual needs whether that is for personal health, to stay connected with your family or being able to meet with friends at one of our local gatherings. We strive and work every day to meet your goals.
Our Social Workers are here for you and available to assist in coordinating a whole range of services.
Members, regardless of age, income or status, are encouraged to contact us when they feel the need.
We see people in our office, visit their homes, hospitals and nursing homes. Our social workers can help with plans for your active years or retirement and provide information about important documents, such as advance directives.
Additional Areas of Assistance We Provide
Help staying at home
Referrals to care services (including services for careers of people with a disability)
Updating home environment and security to fit your needs
Advisory services and case management
Dementia care
Housing help including Assisted Living
Examples Of Services Provided In The Past and Client Testimonial
We take an individual approach in connecting our members to community resources by helping them access appropriate programs. For example: Meals-on-Wheels, Access-a-Ride, and Legal Services for the Elderly are only some of the programs with which we connect
After a hip replacement, Ms. M realized she could no longer get to the places that were important to her. We called for an Access-a-Ride application, helped her complete it and accompanied her to the interview.
We assess eligibility and refer to appropriate benefits and entitlements, i.e. Social Security, Medicare, Food Stamps, etc. We also field questions regarding Swiss benefits, entitlements, and citizenship.
A 79 year old member who is living independently was having difficulty covering her basic monthly expenses. By reviewing the benefits for older NYC residents, we discovered that she was eligible for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE). We helped her to apply for it.
We provide in-home, on-site (hospitals, rehab and nursing homes), and telephone or in-office counseling to help support the emotional well-being of our members. We remain in ongoing contact and make follow-up calls and home visits to supplement this goal.
A long-time SBS member recently learned that her closest relative in Switzerland had died. Given the dynamics of the long distance between her and her native country, we provided supportive counseling to help her process her loss and get through a period of grieving.
We offer information and referral services to our members, including, but not limited to, medical, legal, social, and financial issues based on individual and personal needs.
A young mother who recently relocated to New York from Switzerland with her husband and young children needed to find child care in lower Manhattan. We were able to refer her to child care agencies and talked to her about what to look for in seeking child care in NYC.
We guide our members and their significant others in meaningful discussion on the practical, personal, and legal aspects of planning for the future.
Because we have known our members for so long, as their frailty increases, there are issues that arise which need our professional attention. Often with no family in the US, we are the ones who share with them in their life review, a discussion of their legacy, and also practical considerations such as legal, financial, and burial planning.
End of Life and Resting Place
We help guide our members and their significant others in meaningful discussion in the practical, personal, and legal aspects of planning for the future
Because we have known our members for so long, as their frailty increases, there are issues that arise which need our professional attention. Often with no family in the US, we are the ones who share with them in their life review, a discussion of their legacy, and practical considerations such as legal, financial, and burial planning. At the SBS, we do maintain a burial space which is available to our members as their final resting place.
Resting Place
It is comforting to know there is a final resting place for our members.
The SBS offers all members a final resting place at our Swiss plot in Oakwood cemetery, Mt. Kisco, New York