RI Minority Elder Task Force honors RINewsToday writer, Herb Weiss, and advocates

“This year we decided to honor 4 individuals in our community who we felt go above and beyond for seniors. Whether it is bringing attention to the problems seniors are facing daily through writing or passing out food at the local food pantry. The dedication goes above and beyond the norm. This year we decided to include an Organization. We chose St.Martin de Porres Senior Center. They have been serving minority seniors for over 75 years. We appreciate all of the honorees without them seniors would be at a loss. And without my task force many seniors would go without basic needs and information,” said  Lori Brennan-Almeida 

The RI Minority Elder Task Force will hold their annual Everyday Heroes Luncheon on Sunday, October 6th from noon to 4pm at Chelo’s Restaurant, 2225 Post Road in Warwick, RI.

Receiving the Everyday Heroes awards will be: Dwight Rockett, Domingas Moreira and Vivian Graham. All are volunteers who are honored for going above and beyond to provide assistance to elders.

St. Martin de Porres Senior Center will be honored for providing services to minority elders for more than 75 years. Their director is Linda A’Vant Deishinni.

Robin Covington, a Coalition Director – Saint Elizabeth Haven for Elder Justice, said: “[Our heroes], who have given their time, energy, and compassion to improve lives in the Rhode Island elder community. These special people go above and beyond for older adults in Rhode Island and this event will celebrate that.

Vivian Graham, of Providence,has a strong commitment to working in the community, and has been a Maturity trainee at St. Martin de Porres Senior Center in Providence for the past 4 years. Prior to coming to the Center, she worked for The Kent Center as Case Manager, and Urban League for twelve years teaching GED to teen mothers.

She has developed a number programs for seniors including sewing and healthy lifestyle to enhance their daily lives.  During the COVID pandemic, Vivian never stopped caring for the people we serve.  She was the only trainee who refused to remain home, but instead assisted staff in making sure seniors received daily meals and much needed hygiene products. She also assisted in keeping the communication up by calling seniors who were homebound and suffering from depression, or social isolation during that very difficult time.

During the past four years the center’s pantry went from serving 25 individuals weekly to 230 and more, and Vivian was instrumental in recruiting and working with volunteers that assisted in serving these families. She also worked diligently to create special bags for the homeless who visit during the week, or emergency boxes for families in need and collected and distributed warm clothing and blankets during the cold months for seniors and families in need.  Most recently she completed a training for the RI Food Bank to expand additional healthy food to the community. Presently, Vivian oversees the free breakfast and lunch program which feeds up to 65 seniors daily and works with staff in maintaining the food pantry. 

Presently, Vivian is in charge of the senior meal site.  She was nominated because of the giving of her time – arriving at 7 AM to make sure that seniors are provided a healthy breakfast to start their day.  During the many holidays Vivian can be seen making small gifts for each senior, making matching aprons for the staff and last February, she made over 50 cakes for seniors to decorate and take home. 

St. Martin de Porres Center was founded in 1954, and serves predominately African American, Hispanic community and the new immigrant community.  The center provides a home away from home to many; as well as provides assistance in navigating the medical, housing and social programs.  

Domingas Moreira, affectionately known as Minga is undoubtably a community hero. First and foremost, Minga is an angel! Minga is kind, caring, patient and helpful. Minga started out as a CCRI intern within EBCAP’s senior services department. Minga would help provide administrative support and translation services to elder services case managers. Minga eventually became a paid staff person with the title of Language Liaison.

Domingas speaks 5 languages- English, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Even after funding ended, Minga still volunteers her linguistic services and Minga continues to help her community whenever needed. Minga is a firm believer that when you bless others, not only are they being blessed, but you are being blessed as well.

Dwight C. Rockett affectionately known as Brother Dwight. Dwight retired with a successful career of 42 years as a welder with Electric Boat after being injured on the job. Originally from West Virginia, his career relocated him to Salt Lake, Utah were he lived and worked for 23 years. During this time, he met his former wife together they have one son. Brother Dwight, “loves The Lord and loves serving others”. After relocating to Rhode Island in 2007, he joined Cathedral of Life Church were he fully immersed himself. He has served for many years delivering food baskets to the elderly and visiting the sick and shut-in. While attending The Cathedral of Life, he felt as though he had a calling to do more. This led him to volunteer with The Camp Street Ministries Food Pantry where he was quickly given the opportunity to become the Director of the Food Pantry in 2022. As he accepted this position as a volunteer, he charged himself to care for the elderly. He decided that the additional self assigned responsibilities would include: providing special services to the elderly without receiving any pay, using his personal resources and vehicle to drive and escort them to doctor appointments, the hospital, or anywhere they needed to go. In additional to his food pantry duties, twice a week he prepares and delivers food to the elderly.

Herb Weiss will receive the Founder’s Award for his many years of providing information and commentary regarding senior issues. “Herb is a champion for Rhode Island seniors,” said Lori Brennan-Almeida Chairperson of METF.  Covington added, “he is a distinguished journalist and we appreciate that he highlights important issues that affect older adults in Rhode Island.”

About the R.I. Minority Elder Task Force, Inc.

The Rhode Island Minority Elder Task Force is a non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization established in 1992 to promote and advocate for cultural and language appropriate services to minority elders, promote educational outreach for increased accessibility of service, and to provide limited emergency assistance to low income elders.

For more than thirty years, the Task Force has provided relief to low income elders, distributing more than $225,000 in direct grants to help with utility costs, rent, food, clothing, medications, dental costs, healthcare items and other necessities of life.

The METF Mission is “To promote and advocate for cultural and language appropriate services for elders from minority groups; to promote educational outreach for increased accessibility of those services to minority elders; and to provide assistance to low-income elders.”

Senior Issues

The Task Force has successfully advocated for pharmaceutical assistance for seniors, health services for low-income immigrant elders, culturally appropriate meals programs for seniors in the senior meals program and in facilities for elders, and a host of programs and services for Rhode Island’s diverse elder population.

Also, in response to demonstrated need in the minority elder community, the METF Emergency Fund was developed in 2003.  That fund provides direct assistance to low-income elders in emergency situations who are referred by Task Force members or their agencies.

More than 1,000 grants have been provided to low-income elders in dire need of assistance in Rhode Island.  Grants have been made for food, utilities, heating assistance, phone service, medical equipment, clothing, personal need items, prescription drugs, transportation, furniture and repairs, and rental assistance including cleaning and fumigating apartments, as well as other emergency needs. 

The METF continues to work towards increasing cultural competency in health and social services and presented a conference for nurses and social workers in 2016 that presented and discussed cultural awareness and multi-cultural attitudes, particularly in the elder population. They have provided assistance under the Tufts/United Way Covid grant to the Cape Verdean elder community through the Cape Verdean Progressive Center for food, cleaning and personal needs; Higher Ground International for food and protective equipment for their elder group; The Narragansett Tribe for food assistance to tribal elders; St. Martin De Porres Senior Center for food; and another 50 individual persons needing food assistance because of the pandemic.

The Task Force has membership from various communities and organizations who guide and refer potential grantees for assistance.  Included in this section is a listing of membership and representation. Native American, African American, Southeast Asian, Cape Verdian, Jewish, Latino and other individuals and organizations including Senior Center, social work, health care, housing, Community Action Program, eldercare, disability organizations are represented.

The Chairperson of the RIMETF is Lori Brennan Almeida, MSW, LCSW ([email protected]). Contact the RI Minority Elder Task Force, P.O. Box 16553, Rumford, RI 02916, or email: [email protected].

About Herb Weiss

Herb Weiss, 70, originally from Dallas, moved to Pawtucket over 30 years ago. Since 1980, he has had a distinguished journalism career, gaining national and state recognition as an expert on aging, healthcare, and medical issues.  In September 2022, Herb was appointed Deputy Director of Senior Services at the Leon Mathieu Senior Center.

In Pawtucket, Herb writes a weekly “Age Beat” editorial on aging issues for the Blackstone Valley Call & Times (formerly the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call, from 2000-2004 and 2012 to present) and RI News Today (since 2019). Since 2016, his cover stories also appear in Senior Digest, a monthly publication for seniors. He is a published author of two books.

Throughout his 44-year writing career, Herb has authored or co-authored over 1,073 articles in national and Rhode Island newspapers and trade publications. The James P. Adams Library at Rhode Island College (RIC) will house digital copies of all his published articles, along with copies of reports written, newsletters and newspapers that I have edited.  This collection, titled, “Herb Weiss papers,” covers 44 years of reporting on health care aging and medical issues, will be available to RIC students, researchers and health care programs across the nation.

From 1985 to 1993, he oversaw editorial content for seven nationally published trade newsletters and newspapers, including roles as Founding Editor of Aging Network News and Senior Living (now Prime Time), and editor of various medical-related newsletters.

In 1996, Herb coauthored a major mental health report, “Overcoming Barriers to Mental Health Care of Nursing Home Residents with Nancy B. Emerson Lombardo, Ph.D., Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged Research and Training Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, Barry S. Fogel, M.D., Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and Gail K. Robinson, Ph.D., Mental Health Policy Resource Center, Washington, DC. The report detailed the findings of a two-day scientific and public policy conference held to develop policy options and recommendations to improve mental health care of nursing home residents.

Herb has also covered Capitol Hill, writing the Capitol Report for The Journal of Long-Term Care Administration and the Washington Report for Contemporary Long-Term Care. He was accredited by the House Press Gallery to cover Congress in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

He has served on editorial advisory boards for numerous publications related to long-term care, including The Brown LTC Quality Letter, McKnight’s LTC News, Aging Network News, The Journal of Long-Term Care Administrators, and Contemporary Long-Term Care.

Herb’s work on aging issues has been widely recognized. He received the 2003 AARP Rhode Island Vision Award, two National Awards from the American College of Health Care Administrators (1994 and 1999), the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Center for Studies in Aging at the University of North Texas (1997), and was named one of the “100 Most Influential People” in long-term care by McKnight’s LTC News in 1997.

In 1999, in recognition of my journalistic advocacy for older Americans, he was given the highest honor award by the Governor of Kentucky, a commission as a Kentucky Colonel.  

In 2014, Herb co-edited an e-book with Dr. Nancy Carriuolo, president of Rhode Island College, documenting the emails of Rhode Island social activist Richard Walton. vHe also published two collections of articles for seniors: “Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly” (2016) and its sequel “Taking Charge: Vol 2: More Collected Stories on Aging Boldly” (2021).

Recognized as an expert on aging, Herb has been appointed to the Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Aging by five governors and to the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Treatment by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio in 2021.

Herb holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a social work certificate from the University of Texas (1977), a master’s degree in gerontology, and a Specialist in Aging certificate from North Texas State University (1979). He also completed 24 credits towards a doctorate in public policy and aging at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

He is a 2012 graduate of the Theta II Class of Leadership Rhode Island. Herb lives in Oakhill, Pawtucket with his wife, Patricia S. Zacks (D’Angelo), and their chocolate lab, Molly. He has two stepchildren, Ben and Samantha. 

Herb’s articles appear routinely in the Blackstone Valley Call and Times (combining the Woonsocket Call and Pawtucket Times and RINewsToday every Monday and monthly in Senior Digest. . His third book, Taking Charge, Vol. III, will be coming out in early 2025.