Friday, September 26, 2008

EESI's New Program Assistant Introduction

I am Alisha Howell, the new Program Assistant for the Elder Economic Security Initiative at Wider Opportunities for Women (and I’m also the new blog-poster)! My weekly blogs will keep you up-to-date with the latest economic security issues affecting elders, and elder women especially.

Working at WOW for just 5 days now, I can already see the positive impact the organization has on women throughout the country. In particular, the EESI has helped elders become more economically secure by raising awareness and advocating to pass legislation in favor of income support benefits such as low-income assistance with prescription drugs. In addition, the EESI has worked on improving the housing situation for elder women, too by providing data on their housing needs in relation to their retirement income. The organization cares about sharing ordinary people’s stories and realizes the importance of connecting actual faces to the problems we see facing senior citizens. In fact, you can check out one of the personal stories here.

After attending several panels and a hearing this week, I came away with a better understanding of the EESI agenda and a sense of pride and excitement. I am proud to now be a part of an organization that cares about issues critical to the well-being of all Americans, and excited to see what we accomplish next!

I look forward to providing you with useful information through this blog and if there is a topic you want to know more about, please let me know by sending an email to ahowell@wowonline.org.