[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 160 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PAYING TRIBUTE TO ``LINKAGE HOUSE'' ON THEIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 22, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, today I rise to ask my colleagues to take 
a moment to honor one of my local institutions, Linkage House Home for 
the Elderly, for 10 years of outstanding service.
  Linkage House is the result of a shared vision of four local East 
Harlem organizations: the Greater Emmanuel Baptist Church, Union 
Settlement Association, the Community Association of East Harlem 
Triangle, and Mount Sinai Medical Center. That vision recognized that 
the ability to stay in one's home--or ``aging in place''--is the 
overwhelming choice of many older Americans. However, to do so, these 
venerable residents need assistance from informal support systems, 
access to formal health services & social services, and meaningful, 
productive roles integrated within an affordable living environment.
  Opening in May 1997 at 309 East 118th Street, the institution was the 
result of nine years of planning and organizing by a number a people. 
Under the leadership of Dr. Robert Butler and Dr. Gary Rosenberg, funds 
and technical assistance were found to design and implement the 
project. Union Settlement, under the leadership at that time of Eugene 
Sklar, provided invaluable experience in designing and implementing 
services for older people living in the community. Community activist 
Petra Allende, Union Settlement Association's Sally Yarmolinksy and 
Mount Sinai's Glenn Williams--all of them members of the original 
Linkage House Board and who have unfortunately since passed away--were 
also vital to making this project a reality.
  Today, Linkage House stands as a testament to hard work and 
commitment of all these men and women. It encourages socialization and 
shared activities, providing a cross section of comprehensive and 
integrated services that include an on-site full time social work 
services coordinator, resident- developed shared living spaces and an 
on-site physical exercise room that offers aerobics, Tai Chi, and 
walkings programs.
  Linkage House is also a laboratory for learning. It is the site for 
Union Settlement's GED classes, a social work student internship site, 
and a community based education site for federally funded Geriatric 
Education Center (GEC) that trains community providers of service to 
older adults. The ``Meet the Doctor'' program provides interaction 
between physicians who are Geriatric Fellows, Internal Medicine 
residents, and older adults. Medical student studies and surveys of the 
use of complementary and alternative medicine by older adults are also 
conducted here.
  That is why I am more than happy to congratulate Linkage House Home 
for the Elderly on their 10th Anniversary. Their tireless commitment 
and resilient efforts on behalf of our senior citizens is a model that 
we can all follow not just in East Harlem, but around the nation.

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