Project Find Careers in New York, NY

In 1967, the National Council on Aging established Project FIND as part of a federal demonstration project designed to develop a national picture of the elderly poor. More than 50,000 senior citizens responded to questionnaires created for the program, which was the first major effort in the United States to study the lives of low-income older adults, identify their greatest needs, and investigate the resources available to them. FIND stands for Friendless, Isolated, Needy, and Disabled: this was the dire picture of the elderly poor that developed as a result of the National Council on Aging’s survey. In 1969, when the demonstration project ended, a group of dedicated, grassroots community activists joined Project FIND’s leaders and founded and incorporated FIND Aid for the Aged, Inc. Project FIND in New York City is the only one of the original 13 demonstration programs that survives.