[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E781-E782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      A TRIBUTE TO AWILDA ROSARIO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Awilda 
Rosario, a woman committed to the dignified care of the aging in her 
community.
  Awilda Rosario was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on December 3, 1951. 
She grew up with her mother, step-father and three sisters. Early on 
she was irresistibly attracted to reading and learning about the world 
and how people live. During her high school years, inspired by her 
Spanish Literature teachers, she discovered her love for human studies. 
After graduating from high school in the town of Loiza, she attended 
the University of Puerto Rico where she completed a Bachelors degree in 
Spanish Literature with a minor in Sociology.
  After teaching Spanish Literature at the high school level, Ms. 
Rosario decided to immigrate to New York, invited by one of her cousins 
who already lived there. Once in New York, she started to connect with 
her ex-classmates and friends who helped her land her first job. 
Because there are no accidents, that first job was as a Caseworker at 
Diana Jones Senior Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her position 
afforded her the opportunity to work with community groups to advocate 
on behalf of the elderly.
  At that moment, just emerging from the 70's, the New York City 
Department for the Aging was not as yet the developed and diverse 
agency that it is today. The needs of the minority elderly, especially 
those unable to understand the complexity of the benefits and 
entitlement programs went mostly unmet. Many minority elderly 
individuals simply did not apply for benefit programs because they did 
not know they existed. Even if they knew, they didn't know how to apply 
for them. For this reason, she joined forces with Mr. Ed Mendez-
Santiago, who would later be appointed the Commissioner for the New 
York City Department for the Aging. The organization he founded, the 
Spanish Speaking Elderly Council-Raices, became a forerunner for 
advocacy and expansion of services that made benefits and entitlement 
programs accessible to the minority elderly. She held the position of 
Chairperson of the Board for a good number of years.
  After a few years of working as a caseworker, Ms. Rosario was 
appointed as the Director of the North Brooklyn meals-on-wheels 
program, also funded by the Department for the Aging and sponsored by 
Wartburg Lutheran Home for the Aging. During that time Ms. Rosario 
became very active with the community and served as a member of the 
Board of Directors of several organizations including the New York 
State Office for the Aging, Vision for the Blind, East New York 
Interagency Council and the Brownsville-Ocean Hill Interagency Council.
  After completing her Masters in Social Work and Administration at 
Hunter College, Wartburg Lutheran offered her the position of Director 
of Adult Day Health Care program which she held until several years 
ago. After 21 years with Wartburg, Ms. Rosario came to work with 
Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home to serve as Director of their 
Adult Day Care Program. As always, she continues to enjoy her work with 
the elderly and with those whose needs can be met by the services 
offered by this program. She is grateful to Brooklyn United Methodist 
for the opportunity to continue working with the community and doing 
what she likes.
    

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