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https://priceschool.usc.edu/news/price-study-disadvantaged-workers-face-more-challenges-come-retirement/
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Study: Disadvantaged workers face more challenges come retirement
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As Healthy Aging Month comes to a close, research from Price School associate professor Emma Aguila documents the varied work pathways of America’s increasingly diverse older workforce.

Highlights:

? Workers with limited job opportunities face more obstacles in retirement – perpetuating inequities among demographic groups
? Various disparities, along with other inequities such as health and education, perpetuate income inequality come retirement
? Employer-sponsored pension plans cover about two-thirds of white workers, but just over one-third of Latino workers

American workers with limited job opportunities during their working years face obstacles in retirement too, perpetuating inequities among demographic groups. That’s according to research conducted by Emma Aguila, a USC Price School associate professor and expert on the economics of aging.

Aguila’s research, which was reported in a recent study for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, sheds light on some of the challenges many older Americans face in planning for retirement or seeking to work longer into their lives.

As Healthy Aging Month comes to a close, the study documents the varied work pathways of America’s increasingly diverse older workforce. Disadvantaged older workers are more likely to be forced into involuntary retirement due to job loss or disability, for example. They may take on informal gigs that don’t contribute to the Social Security system, such as nannying. Hispanic and Black Americans in mid-skilled jobs have been particularly affected by automation, as well.

Additionally, historically disadvantaged groups are less likely to have control over where, when and how much they work at older ages.

Despite the growing diversity of the aging workforce, much of the existing research on older workers has focused on the experiences of economically and socially advantaged groups, the study concluded.

“I think we’ve been analyzing the population as if they all behave the same, like they all have full-time jobs and they follow this career path and then they retire,” Aguila said. “But I think what we really need to consider is the heterogeneity across the population.”

Take pensions, for example. Employer-sponsored plans covered about two-thirds (64.6%) of non-Hispanic white workers, 55.7% of Black workers, and just over one-third (38.4%) of Hispanic workers, Aguila reported.

Occupational segregation

Those differences can be explained in large part by occupational segregation. Whites are more likely to work at larger firms that provide pensions, while Blacks are more likely employed in the public sector, which often offers pensions, too. Hispanics, by contrast, are more likely to work at smaller firms or part time – jobs that are less likely to include employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Disparities like this, along with other inequities such as health and education, further perpetuate income inequality come retirement. “The more advantaged workers, they not only have Social Security, but they will have other sources of income” like savings or pensions, Aguila noted. “So the inequality continues.”

The National Academy tapped Aguila to analyze existing data and research on vulnerable older workers, as part of a broader report published in May examining the aging American workforce. She reported that there is not enough literature on the experience of these populations, limiting insight into how inequality in retirement and work opportunities affects older adults.

Aguila recommended that future research take a “life course perspective” on inequity in work and retirement. Gathering such data would require following people over time to better understand inequalities in later adulthood. Doing so is necessary because the causes of unequal work and retirement pathways begin long before age 50, she explained.

Pandemic effect
Aguila conducted her research just as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country, putting older adults at heightened risk of serious illness or death, while prompting employers to lay off workers or send them home to work remotely. In many ways, the pandemic and the ensuing turmoil in the job market underscore the issues Aguila studied.

Still, she said it’s too early to know whether the pandemic exacerbated the problems she highlighted in her study.

“More research will come out,” Aguila said of the pandemic’s impact on older workers. “We will be able to understand better whether these issues were exacerbated.”

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https://keck.usc.edu/some-forms-of-elder-abuse-worsened-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-study-finds/
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Some forms of elder abuse worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, study finds

A study led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC — the first direct comparison of elder abuse data before and during the pandemic — found increased reports of physical and emotional abuse and co-occurring abuse.
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have raised the alarm about a heightened risk of elder abuse. Many older adults faced social isolation, experienced financial instability, or relied heavily on their caregivers–factors that have been linked to elder abuse in the past.

Despite the concern, data on the subject has been limited. Though some studies have compared reports of elder abuse before versus during the pandemic, they used data from two different sources, limiting researchers’ ability to draw conclusions.

“A lot of people have been asking how elder abuse might be changing during the pandemic, but there wasn’t objective data about those trends,” said Duke Han, PhD, director of neuropsychology in the Department of Family Medicine and a professor of family medicine, neurology, psychology and gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Han and his colleagues conducted the first study comparing elder abuse rates before and during the pandemic from a single data source, the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). While they did not find a significant increase in overall reports of abuse, their findings do show cause for concern. Reports of physical and emotional abuse increased, as did reports of multiple abuses happening at the same time. The study was published in the journal BMC Geriatrics.

“Even though we didn’t see a statistical increase in reports of abuse, our data points to the idea that the abuse happening during the pandemic was more severe,” said Han, the study’s senior author.

Shifting patterns of abuse

The researchers analyzed calls, emails and social media messages to the NCEA resource line, which provides information and assistance related to elder abuse. They studied two separate one-year periods: before the pandemic (March 16, 2018 to March 15, 2019) and during its peak (March 16, 2020 to March 15, 2021).

First, contacts were separated into those that alleged abuse versus those that did not (for example, callers seeking general information about NCEA resources). About half of the contacts included allegations of abuse, but the percentage of contacts reporting abuse did not differ significantly between the two time periods.

Next, the researchers looked more closely at the type of abuse alleged, categorizing each report as financial, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect. Across both time periods, financial abuse–which can involve a family member or caretaker misusing an older person’s money or possessions–was most common. But during the pandemic, higher rates of emotional and physical abuse were reported. A higher percentage of contacts (27.1% during the pandemic versus 18.7% before) also reported more than one form of abuse happening at the same time.

The relationship between victims and alleged perpetrators was also studied, but researchers found no significant differences between the two time periods. Across the board, family members were the most common perpetrators.

While the study shows a shift in elder abuse patterns during the pandemic, it does not prove a causal link between the pandemic and the change in reports. The researchers also emphasize that NCEA’s resource line is not a crisis or reporting line for elder abuse, which may limit the types of calls it receives.

Reaching out to stop abuse

In general, understanding how patterns of elder abuse change during a pandemic can help improve future prevention and outreach efforts, said Gali H. Weissberger, PhD, a senior lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and first author of the study. For example, increased outreach may be needed during a pandemic to ensure abuse is reported and resources are available to those who need them.

“Although the ratio of abuse to non-abuse calls didn’t differ between the two time periods, we did see a drop in total calls during the pandemic,” Weissberger said. “That might suggest that during COVID, people just reached out less.”

Through their collaboration with NCEA, the researchers are continuing to collect and categorize data from all calls and messages to the organization’s resource line. They plan to analyze that data for additional insights about elder abuse trends over time.

About this study

The study’s other authors are Aaron C. Lim, Laura Mosqueda and Annie L. Nguyen from the Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC; Julie Schoen and Richard S. Esquivel from the National Center on Elder Abuse and the Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC; Kathleen H. Wilber from the USC Leonard David School of Gerontology; and Jenna Axelrod from the NorthShore University HealthSystem.

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging [RF1AG068166, R01AG060096, K01AG064986, T32 AG000037], the Administration for Community Living grant [90ABRC0001-02-00] and the Department of Family Medicine of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

The post Some forms of elder abuse worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared first on USC News.

Stress — in the form of traumatic events, job strain, everyday stressors and discrimination — accelerates aging of the immune system, potentially increasing a person’s risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and illness from infections such as COVID-19, according to a new USC study.

The research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help explain disparities in age-related health, including the unequal toll of the pandemic, and identify possible points for intervention.

“As the world’s population of older adults increases, understanding disparities in age-related health is essential. Age-related changes in the immune system play a critical role in declining health,” said lead study author Eric Klopack, a postdoctoral scholar in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “This study helps clarify mechanisms involved in accelerated immune aging.”

As people age, the immune system naturally begins a dramatic downgrade, a condition called immunosenescence. With advanced age, a person’s immune profile weakens, and includes too many worn-out white blood cells circulating and too few fresh, “naive” white blood cells ready to take on new invaders.

Potential problems relating to stress and the immune system

Immune aging is associated not only with cancer, but with cardiovascular disease, increased risk of pneumonia, reduced efficacy of vaccines and organ system aging.

But what accounts for drastic health differences in same-age adults? USC researchers decided to see if they could tease out a connection between lifetime exposure to stress — a known contributor to poor health — and declining vigor in the immune system.

They queried and cross-referenced enormous data sets from University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, a national longitudinal study of the economic, health, marital, family status, and public and private support systems of older Americans.

To measure exposure to various types of social stress, the researchers analyzed responses from a national sample of 5,744 adults over the age of 50. They answered a questionnaire designed to assess respondents’ experiences with social stress, including stressful life events, chronic stress, everyday discrimination and lifetime discrimination.

Blood samples from the participants were then analyzed through flow cytometry, a lab technique that counts and classifies blood cells as they pass one-by-one in a narrow stream in front of a laser.

As expected, people with higher stress scores had older-seeming immune profiles, with lower percentages of fresh disease fighters and higher percentages of worn-out white blood cells. The association between stressful life events and fewer ready-to-respond, or naive, T cells remained strong even after controlling for education, smoking, drinking, BMI and race or ethnicity.

Some sources of stress may be impossible to control, but the researchers say there may be a workaround.

T-cells — a critical component of immunity — mature in a gland called the thymus, which sits just in front of and above the heart. As people age, the tissue in their thymus shrinks and is replaced by fatty tissue, resulting in reduced production of immune cells. Past research suggests that this process is accelerated by lifestyle factors like poor diet and low exercise, which are both associated with social stress.

“In this study, after statistically controlling for poor diet and low exercise, the connection between stress and accelerated immune aging wasn’t as strong,” said Klopack. “What this means is people who experience more stress tend to have poorer diet and exercise habits, partly explaining why they have more accelerated immune aging.”

Stress and the immune system: Impact of diet and exercise

Improving diet and exercise behaviors in older adults may help offset the immune aging associated with stress.

Additionally, cytomegalovirus (CMV) may be a target for intervention. CMV is a common, usually asymptomatic virus in humans and is known to have a strong effect accelerating immune aging. Like shingles or cold sores, CMV is dormant most of the time but can flare up, especially when a person is experiencing high stress.

In this study, statistically controlling for CMV positivity also reduced the connection between stress and accelerated immune aging. Therefore, widespread CMV vaccination could be a relatively simple and potentially powerful intervention that could reduce the immune aging effects of stress, the researchers said.

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In addition to Klopack, other authors include Eileen Crimmins, a University Professor and the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School; and Steve Cole and Teresa Seeman of UCLA.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (P30AG017265, U01AG009740).

The post Stress accelerates aging of immune system, study finds appeared first on USC News.

REDIRECT 7629 https://gero.usc.edu/2022/05/02/genetic-variants-mobility-changes-in-aging/
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In a new study, scientists from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology have discovered genetic variations in a mitochondrial enzyme that may contribute to age-related changes in strength and mobility. The results help to address the question of why some individuals remain active as they age while others find it more difficult to get around.

Measures of muscle health correlate with overall health in older populations. While a lack of exercise or poor diet can contribute to age-related muscle loss, genetic factors also likely play a role, according to the researchers.

The research, published this month in eLife, identifies specific genetic contributors associated with age-related muscle loss, a condition connected to a decline in quality of life, an increased risk of falls, and sarcopenia, the progressive loss of strength and performance that impacts up to half of older adults.

“While aging is universal, the genetic factors that contribute to differences among individuals as they age are unclear. We wanted to examine the role that genetic variations in a mitochondrial enzyme play in age-related changes to mobility and were able to uncover a new biomarker of age-related muscle health,” said Osvaldo Villa, a Biology of Aging PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Villa is a co-first author of the study alongside Nicole Stuhr, a current PhD student in the laboratory of USC Leonard Davis Professor Sean Curran, and Chia-An Yen, who recently earned her PhD under Curran’s mentorship.

For their study, the team screened the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) for genetic mutations that contribute to a build-up of oxidative stress, a process that can cause cell damage in muscle tissue. They found that mutations in a mitochondrial gene called ALH-6 were strongly associated with stress responses specifically in the muscle. Over time, worms with these mutations displayed premature decline in mobility; slower crawling and swimming.

Next, the team analyzed data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to see if genetic variants in the human equivalent of this gene, called ALDH4A1, were also linked to age-related mobility changes. The HRS has enrolled more than 36,000 US adults aged 50 and over, and collected genetic and health information. By analyzing a subset of participants with genetic data and measures of strength, the researchers found that older adults with certain variations in the ALDH4A1 gene had slower walking speeds and reduced hand strength as they aged.

“These findings suggest that variations in the ALH-6 or ALDH4A1 gene can impact muscle aging in C. elegans and humans, and may help predict muscle health in people as they age,” said Stuhr.

The team cautions that many human genes likely interact with each other, as well as diet and other factors, to influence strength and mobility as people age. More studies are needed to understand all of the genes involved in these age-related changes.

The study adds to previous USC Leonard Davis School research related to mitochondrial proteins and muscle mass and provides a model to understand the complex role mitochondria play in organismal health over the lifespan.

It also introduces a new experimental platform for comparing biological data from humans with that of the C. elegans by leveraging collaboration with the Genomic Translation Across Species Core (GTASC) in the USC-Buck Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging. The GTASC is co-led by USC Leonard Davis School Research Assistant Professor Thalida Em Arpawong and University Professor Eileen Crimmins, additional co-authors on this study.

“We are now planning to partner with other researchers to allow them to integrate their genetic research models with our human gene-wide association scanning approach, said senior author Curran, professor of gerontology, molecular and computational biology and associate dean of research at the USC Leonard Davis School. “Building on our work in this way could help with identifying new predictors of age-related changes in muscle health and other age-related conditions.”

This work was funded by the NIH R01 AG058610 and RF1 AG063947 to S.P.C., T32 AG052374 to O.V. and N.L.S. and T32 GM118289 to N.L.S. This study was supported in part by funding from The National Institute on Aging, through the USC-Buck Nathan Shock Center (P30 AG068345). The National Institute on Aging has supported the collection of both survey and genotype data for the Health and Retirement Study through co-operative agreement U01 AG009740.

Press release courtesy of eLife with additional reporting by the USC Leonard Davis Office of Communications. Top: microscopy image of C. elegans courtesy of the Curran Lab.

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Healthy Planet, Healthy Aging

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Healthy Planet, Healthy Aging

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This Earth Day, it’s important to remember that our health as we age has a lot to do with the health of our environment from the soil to the sky, according to several experts from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Air pollution and the brain
In particular, research has shown that higher exposure to air pollution is strongly associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, especially for people with certain genetic risk factors for the disease, says University Professor Caleb Finch.

Finch, who holds the ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Chair in the Neurobiology of Aging at the USC Leonard Davis School, has studied air pollution’s effects on the brain for several years, especially the consequences of exposure to fine particulates found in pollution from automobiles, factories and more. Many studies show that poor air quality accelerated aging processes in many tissues, including arteries and brain, with a sizeable impact on cognitive health, he explains.

“As we work to understand the biology of Alzheimer’s disease and develop interventions for prevention and treatment, efforts to improve air quality will also be critical for reducing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s,” Finch says.

Environmental effects aren’t equal
The impact of air pollution isn’t evenly distributed, adds Associate Professor Jennifer Ailshire. Recent research has shown how older adults are especially susceptible to the health problems associated with environmental pollution, she says: “Most of the research had been conducted in younger populations in children and adolescents and in younger adults, but just in the past 10 years, it’s become really clear that older adults are a vulnerable population and that they’re more likely to suffer adverse consequences from chronic exposure to air pollution, and also from these acute episodes.”

Assistant Professor Joseph Saenz, who has studied health and cognition in older adults living in rural and urban areas of Mexico, says environmental risks often disproportionately affect socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Rural populations in Mexico often have higher levels of poverty, lower levels of education, and less access to healthcare; in addition, lack of infrastructure in rural settings can introduce other environmental risks.

“In urban areas, we know that people have high exposure to air pollution from the outdoor environment. In Mexico City, we see the smoggy skies and we see this high level of air pollution that people are breathing in urban areas,” Saenz explains in an episode of the Lessons in Lifespan Health podcast. “However, in rural areas in Mexico, a significant portion of the population relies on solid cooking fuels, such as wood and coal. When people use these solid fuels for cooking, particularly inside the house, you can imagine how quickly the pollution builds up inside the home. … And in my own work, looking at the effects of indoor air pollution from solid cooking fuels, I find that people who cook with these solid cooking fuels tend to have lower cognitive functioning and also more rapid cognitive decline.”

Healthier land, healthier people
Improving the quality of food and reducing the burden of malnutrition, which also more heavily affects people of lower socioeconomic status, starts at the environmental level, say USC Leonard Davis Master of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity graduates Brooklin White MS ’21 and Amylee Amos MS ’17.

In an article for the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, White and Amos discuss how the microbiome of the soil used in farming could affect the microbiome within the human gut. “Restorative agriculture” farming practices, which aim to increase soil health and biodiversity, could provide benefits for both environmental and human health, and registered dietitian nutritionists can play a role in helping their clients get higher-quality food from the ground up, they say.

“RDNs can help society understand the connection between the soil microbiome, food quality, and human and planetary health,” say White and Amos. “We can demonstrate ideas surrounding regenerative agriculture by encouraging practices such as gardening and composting through community and school gardens, backyards, or window ledges. … Various studies have shown that gardening combined with dietetic support can improve interest in cooking and consuming home-grown foods, improve biometric markers such as HbA1c, and reduce BMI levels.”

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On February 11, two days before the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win, Henrietta Dunlap-Mabin was already on the front porch cheering – for a team of eight volunteers who spent the day painting her mother’s house, landscaping the yard and installing new solar lights beside the front walk. The house also sported brand new kitchen cabinets, a spacious walk-in shower in place of the old bathtub, new handrails on the front and back steps, and numerous other safety-enhancing repairs that volunteers had completed on previous visits to the home in South Los Angeles.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I’m amazed at what they can do.”

Dunlap-Mabin, 65, said she travels to Los Angeles from Las Vegas multiple times each week to care for her mother, 85-year-old Annie May Anderson, who faces challenges with mobility and dementia. As she worked to make the home safer for her mother, Dunlap-Mabin learned about the nonprofit Rebuilding Together, made up of over 120 affiliates across the country that provide home repairs and modifications to help community members stay in their homes.

The home’s extensive renovation was part of this year’s Kickoff to Rebuild, a partnership between Rebuilding Together, home improvement retailer Lowe’s, Omaze and other community partners, including the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, to provide essential home repairs for Los Angeles residents. In total, the Super Bowl-sanctioned event provided 16 families in Los Angeles with home repairs, including roof replacements, bathroom upgrades, kitchen installations, landscaping, window repairs and fresh paint.

The 2022 event is the first Kickoff to Rebuild for Rebuilding Together of the City of Angels (RTCOA), the Los Angeles affiliate of Rebuilding Together, which launched in 2020 with support from the USC Leonard Davis School. The affiliate is particularly focused on helping older Angelenos living in the areas surrounding USC age in place safely, said Leon Watts III, learning and development specialist for the school and a member of the RTCOA advisory board.

According to a 2021 survey by AARP, 77 percent of US adults 50 and older want to remain in their homes for the long term, but more than a third of respondents also admitted that their home would probably need physical changes, from ramps and grab bars to extensive remodeling, to best support them as they got older. Watts and RTCOA executive director Zeeda Daniele found that many older adults in the area around the university were dealing with challenges not only regarding their health and safety at home but also from outside issues, such as gentrification, that affected their ability to age in place.

“One of the things that we saw and recognized that there was this marginalized population of seniors that have been living in this community that wanted to stay but were not being served,” said Daniele. “What Leon and I found is that they are fighting every day to stay in the community that they love, but the home is failing them in many instances.”

Educating professionals to better serve individuals and communities

The USC Leonard Davis School has a wealth of expertise in safety, fall prevention and home modification for older adults. The school is home to the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence (FPCE), which is led by Professor Jon Pynoos and is dedicated to promoting aging in place and independent living for persons of all ages and abilities through research, training, and technical assistance.

The center’s Executive Certificate in Home Modification (ECHM), first designed and launched in 2004 by Pynoos, USC Leonard Davis Senior Associate Dean Maria Henke, and FPCE Senior Learning and Development Specialist and ECHM manager, Julie Overton, is a suite of online courses designed for a variety of professionals who work directly or indirectly in the field of supportive home environments, from remodelers, contractors and project planners to program managers and occupational and physical therapists. Students receive not only the latest information on home modification research and products but also instruction on funding strategies, policies, and community planning.

Before coming to the Leonard Davis School, Watts owned a remodeling business for decades. He recognized the need to add gerontology knowledge to his toolbox as his clients aged, and he received his Master of Arts in Gerontology from the school in 2017. Following graduation, he joined the staff of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, where he first began working with the ECHM program.

“The whole design of the ECHM program was amazing to me,” Watts said. “I could see how important it is and how it made a difference.”

In 2020, the USC Leonard Davis School and Rebuilding Together created a partnership to provide the Executive Certificate in Home Modification program at a discounted tuition rate to Rebuilding Together affiliate staff, and since then, dozens of RT personnel have earned their certificate, joining more than 2000 alumni of the program. Affiliates throughout the nation are using the course series to grow the Safe at Home program, which provides no-cost home modifications to people with mobility issues and other disabilities to improve accessibility, reduce falls, increase independence and facilitate aging-in place.

“The ECHM program is gold for this organization. … The whole course was just fantastic,” said Terry Scott, program consultant for Rebuilding Together. Scott, who worked as a builder for 40 years, was a member of the first cohort of Rebuilding Together ECHM students in 2020. He praised the program’s broad scope, which includes not only information on aging and home safety but also education on how professionals can better build partnerships with other organizations and identify resources for their businesses.

Scott added that he especially appreciated the program’s client-centric focus on acknowledging where people are, what needs they have, and how to find creative and unique solutions to problems. It’s something he said he understands deeply after living with mobility challenges during his recovery from an accident, and he’s grateful for how the ECHM program provides this kind of perspective to students. “We need to open our eyes and understand how people live every day,” he said.

Supporting contractors who work with Rebuilding Together in completing the ECHM program has greatly strengthened the organization’s capabilities, Daniele said.

“The ECHM program not only teaches them how to do a highly sophisticated design or redesign; it also talks about ethics,” Daniele said. “It makes for a better service provider. It changes how they go about their business, the quality, the clarity, the transparency.”

There’s no place like home

Along with the professionals who complete the ECHM program, both Watts and Daniele said they would also like to have USC Leonard Davis students get involved with Rebuilding Together, including through possible volunteering, internships, and employment opportunities in the future.

“This partnership between USC and Rebuilding Together presents opportunities for students to get some firsthand experience seeing what older adults’ needs for their homes are like and understanding the need for their professionalism when they graduate,” Watts said. “I find that anytime you get the students involved with seniors, it inspires them; it makes them understand exactly why they’re taking their courses in gerontology.”

During the Kickoff to Rebuild, Watts served as the site captain for the Anderson home, leading a team of volunteers made of employees from various Lowes locations. As the team finished the painting and landscaping and cleaned up the yard, Dunlap-Mabin thanked the volunteers, posed for pictures with them and joked that “the whole neighborhood would be jealous” of the home’s improvements.

She was especially excited for her mother to enjoy the refreshed porch, where she likes to sit in the evening and greet her neighbors on the close-knit block where she has lived for decades, she added. “She’s been a mom for everybody in this neighborhood.”

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