Albany County

The Aging Life Services Program strives to connect older adults, aged 60 and above, with services to enable them to live safely at home.

Older adults can struggle to access aging-related services, transportation to medical appointments, and social opportunities. Our Aging Life Services Elder Care Managers work directly with the client to improve their satisfaction with daily life and feel safer and confident living at home. 

The Aging Life Services Program strives to connect older adults, aged 60 and above, with services to enable them to live safely at home. The program provides social work consultation and volunteer assistance enabling older adults to  maintain their quality of life and dignity. Volunteers provide a connection with the community via home visits, assistance with grocery shopping, and transportation. Social work consultation aides in developing a long-term care plan covering issues related to health, disability, finances, housing, familial concerns, legal questions, and in-home needs. The overall goal is to provide support to older adults in maintaining independence as long as possible.

What Services Does the Program Provide? 
Home visit to carry out comprehensive needs assessment
Assessment of the home's physical environment to determine safety
Assistance with paperwork - organizing, archiving
End of life planning, legal services, social services, and support groups
Advocacy with service providers
Connection to volunteers in the community for help with grocery shopping, rides to appointments, friendly visits and home maintenance 
Who is Eligible to Receive Services?
Older adults, 60 years of age and more living in Otsego County

How much does it cost?
The Aging Life Program is free to participants.

How do I access program services? 
To receive further information about the program or to request an appointment, please contact our Elder Care Manager in our Oneonta office.

Are Volunteer Opportunities Available?
If you are interested in volunteering or learning about more volunteer opportunities, contact our Volunteer Coordinator in our Oneonta office.

The program serves Medicaid-eligible patients, referred by a healthcare provider, who have low food access and a nutritional risk factor. The program provides monthly healthy food and individualized nutrition education support so participants can experience the confidence and ability to address their chronic health conditions using 'food as medicine.'

A residential summer camp for children 7-17 years of age, and a day camp for children 5-10 years of age, located on Snyder's Lake in Rensselaer County. The camp provides summertime recreation and socialization to children throughout the Capital Region of Upstate New York. It is accredited by the American Camp Association.

Provides supports and services to meet the needs of those living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS and other chronic medical conditions and their loved ones, regardless of orientation, lifestyle, or belief. This is accomplished by providing services and programs such as:

• Health home care coordination; 
• Intensive and supportive case management; 
• Project Safe Point (syringe disposal, access/exchange services, recovery readiness counseling, treatment access, HIV/Hepatitis testing and opioid overdose prevention);
• Linguistic services (medical interpretation for those with limited English proficiency)
• Housing support services
• Personal care closet
• Emergency financial assistance. 
• The agency functions in a consultative manner for the entire Catholic Charities system and the Diocese in matters related to HIV/AIDS.

Provides emergency and low-cost housing and supportive services for individuals and families struggling with homelessness. The Catholic Charities Housing Office is committed to providing equal housing opportunities.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:

Emergency shelters are available for homeless men and women. We offer meals and a safe, confidential environment that helps individuals make a transition to permanent housing. We also offer transitional housing for women recovering from mental illness to give them additional time to stabilize and find permanent housing. Victims of human trafficking and refugees resettled in the U.S. are assisted with case management, emergency housing, clothing, food, access to emergency medical treatment legal assistance, and transportation.

For individuals seeking emergency shelter information, please visit the Albany County Department of Social Services office, or contact the Homeless and Traveler's Aid Society at (518) 463-2124.

LOW-INCOME HOUSING OPTIONS

If you are in need of low-income housing in Albany County, please contact the Housing Office at 518-459-0183 to begin the intake process.

Family Apartment Program

Contact: Catholic Charities Housing Office
43 North Main Avenue, Albany, NY 12203
Phone: 518-459-0183
Fax: 518-435-1327
More than 20 scattered-site apartments are available offering permanent, low-cost housing, assessment of needs, information and referral for services, and case management for homeless families. Equal Housing Opportunities.

CDPHP has partnered with Catholic Charities Care Coordination Services on The Community Health Project, an outreach program that serves portions of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Washington counties.

This free program is for select CDPHP Medicaid and Child Health Plus members who are underutilizing preventive care services, including cancer screenings, well visits, comprehensive diabetes care, and regular dental care visits. Trained Community Health Workers from Catholic Charities reach out to these members to offer a variety of support services, such as:

• Connecting with a primary care doctor and other preventive health care services
• Scheduling appointments and providing reminder calls
• Coordinating and/or providing transportation
• Offering gift cards as incentives for completing appointments
• Helping members understand and connect to resources available through their CDPHP benefits, including medical and behavioral health case management and tools to stay healthy.

Community Resource Navigators offer short-term case management for Rensselaer, Albany, and Schenectady Counties. For more information, contact the program.

Provides a wide range of services to individuals of all ages with developmental and related disabilities and their families. CCDS currently operates sixteen residential programs in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties. The agency serves as a resource for 11 counties.

The programs and services available include the following:

• Individual Community Supports
• Environmental Modification (EMOD)
• Family Support Services
• Prader-Willi Syndrome Services
• Residential Services
• Respite Services
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Services

Residential Locations in Albany County:

• Jules Drive ICF/DD, Albany, NY 12203
• Serena House IRA, Albany, NY 12202
• Timberland Drive IRA, Loudonville, NY 12211
• View Avenue IRA, Albany, NY 12200
• Warren House ICF/DD, Albany, NY 12209
• Wellington Avenue ICF/DD, Albany, NY 12203

Provides a range of services, including a food pantry, information and referral assistance, advocacy, casework services, as well as seasonal programs such as holiday and back-to-school initiatives to residents of the rural Hilltowns of Albany County, including Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville.

This initiative, called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD®) is built on an approach that understands that these issues are complex and difficult to easily improve, recognizes that behavior change is often a messy and lengthy process, and acknowledges that individual and systemic barriers often require a true “meeting of a person where they’re at.”

How does it work?

In LEAD, individuals who would typically be arrested and jailed for low-level offenses often driven by psychosocial challenges are instead diverted to harm reduction-based case management and outreach services. One key feature of the project is the continuous communication loop that occurs post-diversion between case management staff, service providers, LEAD stakeholders, and the Albany Police Department. This allows all parties in this communication loop to understand the individual needs of the participant and the importance of meeting the participant where they are at in a non-judgmental, non-coercive manner. Unlike many other models, services delivered to LEAD participants are extremely active and focused on engagement.

What Does Albany LEAD Seek to Accomplish?

• LEAD aligns its goals with the following principles:
• Reorient government’s response to safety, disorder, and health-related problems.
• Improve public safety and public health through research based, health oriented and harm reduction intervention
• Reduce the number of people entering the criminal justice system for low level offenses related to drug use, mental health, sex work, and extreme poverty
• Address racial disparities in the front end of the criminal justice system
• Sustain funding for public health responses to behavioral health issues by capturing and reinvesting justice system savings
• Strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the community

Making a difference in people’s life is what the volunteer ombudsmen do on a regular basis. The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program operated through Catholic Charities Senior and Caregiver Support Services serves residents of 93 different facilities throughout ten counties in our Diocese. Ombudsmen visit an assigned nursing home or assisted living facility on a weekly basis. Volunteer ombudsmen help residents and their families understand and exercise their rights to quality of care and quality of life. Volunteers have a made a world of difference in residents’ lives by improving communication between facility staff and residents, encouraging changes in activities to provide more personalized choices, increased quality of care by bringing issues to the facility’s attention and helping to resolve issues and complaints.

Community Maternity Services provides in-home and community-based respite services for children with special mental health needs and their families residing in Albany, Schoharie, Otsego, Warren and Washington Counties.

Ongoing Respite Services

Planned respite for children diagnosed with Serious Emotional Disturbance to provide support to the parent(s) of the child. Respite will take place in the home or in the community. It typically occurs after school hours or on the weekend.

Crisis Respite Services

Short-term weekly respite for children and families experiencing a crisis or critical transition period. Respite takes place in the child’s home or in the community (two hours per week during a crisis).

Provides essential services to individuals and families including a soup kitchen, a food pantry, as well as seasonal programs such as holiday food assistance, serving the Arbor Hill and West Hill communities of Albany at its two locations.

Soup Kitchen: Operates Mondays and Thursdays, 11:45 am - 12:45 pm; and Sundays 1:00 - 2:00 pm (operated by Temple Beth Emeth).

Food Pantry: Operates Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 am - 1 pm (by appointment only).

Provides food services through a “Welcome Table” soup kitchen, as well as a food pantry. Additional seasonal programs are offered, including holiday programs.

• Food Pantry: operates Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Friday 10 am - 12 pm and 1 pm - 3 pm.
• Welcome Table (soup kitchen): operates Tuesdays and Saturdays 11:30 am - 1 pm.

Catholic Charities Tri-County Services offers a wide range of essential services designed to meet the diverse needs of individuals and families across Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. Our programs support people of all ages, from infants to seniors. Helping individuals access essential human needs such as food, shelter, and safety is at the heart of our mission, as we empower them to grow, thrive, and reach their fullest potential.

Powered by United Way of the Greater Capital Region, the Capital Region Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) offers FREE federal and New York State tax preparation for income-eligible individuals and families, making tax filing easy, accessible, and affordable—so you can keep more of what you earn. We also provide financial education, community resources, and tools to help you build lasting financial stability.