News & Events

Ageism is often quiet. It shows up in a headline’s framing, in a policy nobody questions, in the assumption that an idea belongs to the young. Gray Panthers NYC board member Meg LaPorte has spent her career getting it into view, and lately she has been doing that through art. Meg is co-founder and president of Art Against Ageism, a nonprofit that uses public art, interactive installations, and creative activism to challenge harmful stereotypes about older adults. In two recen

The 2026 Ministerial Declaration reinforces the case for placing older persons at the centre of sustainable development As the international community prepares for the 2026 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), attention is turning to progress on water, energy, cities and partnerships. Yet one essential question remains: how can sustainable development succeed if it does not fully include older persons? Population aging is reshaping societies worldwide. Across all regions, the n

Most families don’t plan for aging, they react to it. A parent falls and breaks a hip, and suddenly the question isn’t whether Mom can stay in the home she’s lived in for decades. It’s what happens next week. Gray Panthers NYC board member Ron Roel has spent years trying to break that pattern. On a recent episode of Many Voices, One Community on hmTv, he sat down with host Gaitley Stephenson Matthews, a longtime friend from the Glen Cove community, to talk about aging in plac

By Dr. Jane Barratt Image from Giovanna via Pexels Ageism is Visible. Accountability is Not. Look around. Ageism exists in every society. With the young and the old. I see it in policy. In practice. In everyday life. In the way older people are spoken about, and spoken over. It sits inside systems where decisions are made about the box you belong in, and who gets to stay out of it. My focus here is on what that means for people in later life. What I have noticed over many yea

Imagine living on $50 a month. Not for rent or food or medicine, but for everything else that makes a life: a haircut, a birthday card for a grandchild, a phone plan to call the people you love, a new pair of shoes. That is the reality for New Yorkers living in nursing homes. When a resident's care is paid for through Medicaid, nearly all of their Social Security goes toward the cost of that care. What they keep is called the Personal Needs Allowance, or PNA. In New York, it

The death of Gloria Steinem is more than the loss of an icon. It is a warning. Women like Gloria Steinem and Maggie Kuhn spent their lives challenging a world that was perfectly comfortable telling women where they belonged, how they should behave, what choices they could make, and when they should become quiet. Neither woman was very interested in being quiet. Gloria Steinem challenged sexism and the systems that kept women from power. Maggie Kuhn challenged ageism and the

What does it take to change the future of aging? Sometimes, it starts with a young person who discovers a movement and decides to carry its mission forward. Sometimes, it starts with a caregiver who realizes just how much power they have to protect—or diminish—a person's dignity. Sometimes, it starts with an artist, an advocate, a student, or a community leader who simply refuses to accept that “this is the way things are.” On August 25, Gray Panthers NYC's Transformation Tue

By Medha Lalani and Reshma Lalani, Co-Founders of Tech Buddies Our grandparents were the first people who showed us the problem. They struggled with things we had never thought twice about, like sending a text, joining a video call, or figuring out why an app suddenly looked different. We realized quickly that this was not a personal failing. It was a design problem, and they were far from alone. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where we live, 20.5% of residents are 65 or o

We are thrilled — and deeply proud — to share that our VP, Carrie Leljedal, has received AgingIN's 2026 Alex Spanko Memorial Award. This award means something special. It's named for Alex Spanko, who served as AgingIN's director of communications with alacrity, intelligence, and dedication until his tragic passing in March 2025. The award honors early-career professionals who carry forward Alex's steadfast commitment to eldercare — people who lead with compassion, advocate re

After meeting Legacy Project CEO and co-founder Arielle Galinsky at the ASA conference this year, in April, Gray Panthers NYC joined The Legacy Project, Inc. for a Global Intergenerational Week webinar, our first public collaboration and the start of what we hope is a long one. The Legacy Project is a national nonprofit that connects younger and older adults through storytelling and multigenerational friendship, working to combat social isolation and document life stories wor

By Dr. Jane Barratt What nineteen years of disability rights advocacy reveal about making a UN convention on the rights of older people matter I haven’t been close to disability rights work for more than ten years now. But I was, once, and I still watch it from the side lines the way you watch a sport you used to play. I notice things others may not. So when I read the International Disability Alliance’s latest annual report, I wasn’t looking at it as news. I was looking at i

By Manasvi Sharma _______________________________________________ Manasvi Sharma is a 16-year-old student researcher and youth public health advocate focused on the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, and healthcare policy. She is the founder of The Mind Initiative (TMI), a youth-led organization advancing preventative mental wellness and brain health education and advocacy. Through her work, she seeks to improve people’s health and dignity by strengthening the socia

Aging is not something to reverse. It’s something to understand, adapt to—and live fully. What does it really mean to age well? That was the question at the heart of Gray Panthers NYC’s July 2026 Transformation Tuesday conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, geriatrician, educator, and author of Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life. In conversation with Gray Panthers board member Ron Roel, Dr. Leipzig offered a refreshingly direct perspective on aging: n

Remarks by Jack Kupferman at the High Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, 38th plenary meeting, 07.16.26 Think globally. Act locally. The Stakeholder Group on Ageing offers concrete examples where local authorities, working with civil society, result in programs and policies accelerating the SDGs. Addressing the concerns of older persons is of great importance, yet progress and understanding is slow. Through an age lens, impactful solutions are currently being

Mary Daniel washed dishes for a paycheck she never needed, just to be allowed back into the room with her husband Steve. That was the price Mary was willing to pay during the pandemic to see her husband, most families did not have that opportunity, and this week (July 13, 2026), Congress took a real step toward making sure it never asks that again. Every member of the House Ways and Means Committee last week voted, unanimously, to send the Essential Caregivers Act to the Hous

At first glance, the newly released 2025 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) Part 1* from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development looks like good news. On a single night in January 2025, an estimated 745,652 people were experiencing homelessness across the country, a 3% decline from the record high reached in 2024. For the first time in several years, the overall national trend line is bending in the right direction. But look closer, and a different story em

At first glance, data may seem like an unlikely topic for a passionate discussion about aging and confronting ageism. But as participants in this official side event of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), “Treasure What You Measure: Older Persons and Data,” quickly demonstrated, the data we collect—or fail to collect—shapes the policies we create, the resources we allocate, and ultimately whose lives we value. The discussion brought together global leaders i

I've been resistant to standard medical tests all my life and Google has made it easier to become an educated consumer. Sure, I understand that cancer screening is widely viewed as essential preventive care. Colonoscopies and mammograms are credited with saving lives through early detection. For many people in middle age, that is true. But in older adults, routine screening can become more complicated—and sometimes more harmful than helpful. Statistics show a growing gap

At Gray Panthers NYC's June Transformation Tuesday webinar, Aging with Pride: Building Inclusive Communities, our panel explored what it truly means to create communities where LGBTQ+ older adults can age with dignity, belonging, and support. While Pride Month celebrates progress, our conversation was a reminder that many older LGBTQ+ adults continue to face unique challenges rooted in decades of discrimination, isolation, and barriers to care. Building inclusive communities

From Girl Scouts to gerontology — meet Isabel Postelnek, the Gray Panthers NYC intern who designed a patch program teaching girls about ageism, intergenerational connection, and Maggie Kuhn's legacy. Now active in New York and Texas, with New Jersey on the horizon, this initiative is proving what the Gray Panthers have always known: old and young are natural allies. Read the full story in Aging in America News. 🔗 https://aginginamerica.news/2026/06/18/the-girl-scout-way/ #Gr