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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED ASIANS
WHEREAS, the month of May is recognized as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; and
WHEREAS, Cook County celebrates the vast contributions made by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our communities; and
WHEREAS, the American Association of Retired Asians is a non-profit that was specifically established to address the complex needs of the underserved South Asian Older Adult population; and
WHEREAS, this population is underserved due to various cultural and linguistic barriers that have prevented access to public and private resources; and
WHEREAS, AARA strives to overcome these barriers by providing cultural and linguistically compatible services or assistance to seniors to access available public resources and private service providers; and
WHEREAS, everyone at AARA provides services on a pro-bono basis and are volunteers; and
WHEREAS, AARA has worked with AgeOptions, to secure grant funding for its meal program, which now runs five days a week at four suburban eateries including in Hanover Park in the 15th District of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the lunch program now serves roughly 250 to 300 people weekly; and
WHEREAS, AARA helped launch a Memory Cafe at Mumbai Cafe in Hoffman Estates to help South Asians with Alzheimer's, dementia and other diseases involving memory loss to come together each month; and
WHEREAS, AARA worked with Hanover Township, in the 15th District, to establish a Women's Empowerment Group creating a network of women helping each other with financial literacy, coping with grief, and becoming independent; and
WHEREAS, AARA also provides other services, such as stress management through yoga and meditation every other Saturday at Hanover Township, Medicaid/Medicare counseling through the Illinois Department on Aging's Senior Health Insurance Program, and immigration counseling; and
WHEREAS, Cook County’s strength is in its diversity and the American Association of Retired Asians is an example of that; and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby honor the American Association of Retired Asians and Talat Khan for the outstanding work they do in Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of this resolution are presented to the American Association of Retired Asians and Talat Khan.
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