{"id":5051596,"date":"2021-09-10T01:22:49","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T01:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malatinonews.com\/?p=5051596"},"modified":"2021-09-10T01:22:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T01:22:49","slug":"connecting-empowering-supporting-the-latino-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/2021\/09\/10\/connecting-empowering-supporting-the-latino-community\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Connecting, empowering, supporting the Latino Community&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;AARP has an appreciation for the need to expand our programming to be more relevant to their needs,&#8221; said Mike Festa, State Director of AARP Massachusetts, about serving the booming 887,000 population of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Festa emphasized on the Latino News Network (LNN) podcast, &#8220;3 Questions With&#8230;&#8221; &#8220;We are intent on connecting, empowering, and supporting the Hispanic-Latino community.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-spotify wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: ...Mike Festa, State Director, AARP Massachusetts\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/7y8IpueeDLF9wgUz2aAD47?si=frrHOR8YS-270K35XpJ35w&#038;dl_branch=1&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month the U.S. Census began to roll out the population numbers, and it shows that The Bay State is becoming more diverse, with Hispanics-Latinos leading the way from nearly 10% to nearly 13% in ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Massachusetts is also getting older &#8211; in fact, it ranks six in the country when it comes to a population over 18-years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AARP Massachusetts advocates for its more than 800-thousand members aged 50 and older in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Identity Theft: Latinos among the most vulnerable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the biggest challenges older people have is scam artists who always look to exploit situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of people when they\u2019re most vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A study by the Federal Trade Commission shows that Hispanic-Latino communities report less fraud than others. The <a href=\"https:\/\/states.aarp.org\/massachusetts\/aarp-massachusetts-fraud-watch-network-update-september-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AARP Fraud Watch Network<\/a> is a resource to help people spot and avoid identity theft and fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Many folks just don&#8217;t want to admit that they got scammed,&#8221; says Festa about the challenges of prosecuting fraud cases. &#8220;They&#8217;re embarrassed.&#8221; Festa, who was a prosecutor in Middlesex County early in his career, said the focus must be on prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Focus on diversity and inclusion <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AARP Massachusetts recently announced four Bay State organizations will receive 2021 Community Challenge grants \u2013 part of the largest group of grantees to date, with $3.2 million awarded among 244 organizations nationwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grantees will implement quick-action projects to promote livable communities by improving housing, transportation, public spaces, civic engagement, and connection with family, friends, and neighbors, emphasizing the needs of the 50-plus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiftyplusadvocate.com\/2021\/09\/01\/258112-aarp-awards-four-massachusetts-organizations-with-community-grants-as-part-of-its-successful-nationwide-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> Fifty Plus Advocate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of this year\u2019s awards support revitalizing communities adversely impacted by the pandemic and focus on diversity, inclusion, and disparities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Festa shared insights about one of the recipients of the award this year &#8211; Urban Farming Institute of Boston. &#8220;It is a full experience. It is providing food, but it is also a place to connect, to be in the fresh air, to work with others, and to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood,&#8221; says Festa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Festa says part of what AARP Massachusetts does to be helpful is to support projects that are intergenerational, focused on health, and connectivity reducing isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information on resources provided by AARP Massachusetts, visit their website: <a href=\"https:\/\/states.aarp.org\/massachusetts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/states.aarp.org\/massachusetts\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;AARP has an appreciation for the need to expand our programming to be more relevant to their needs,&#8221; said Mike [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5051597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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