Dozens came out for the Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn’s 11th-annual breakfast at the Dyker Beach Golf Course on March 18 — including five special honorees and the city’s number-two official, Public Advocate Letitia James.
The Network, an organization for professionals who serve seniors — ranging from hospital and nursing home workers to community organizers — is dedicated to fighting elder abuse and prejudice against the aged, as well as advocating for greater services for neighborhood retirees.
“People in the greatest generation, and the baby boomers, we need to take care of them,” said the group’s founder, Vicki Ellner. “It’s carved into who we are.”
The organization handed out plaques to those who have helped advance its mission. The awardees were departing board member Susan Ferraro, Nannearl Blackshear from the Borough President’s office, aide to Assemblyman David Weprin (D–Queens) Anthony Lemma, Jeffrey Rosenfeld of the Network’s new fall-prevention plan, and the New York Memory Center’s Christopher Nadeau.
James was the event’s marquee speaker, and she described caring for her elderly mother, who passed away last year at the age of 92.
“She has personal experience caring for a senior,” said Ellner. “We were thrilled to have her come talk about her experience.”
Ellner said the breakfast is a way of acknowledging the hard work of all the Umbrella Network’s members.
“It’s something we are dedicated to do in their support, and they really are the heart of our organization,” said Ellner.
