Gary Barg: We talked about your Five Pillars
program in a video interview about two years ago.
What have you seen as the progress of the program
since then?
Lance Robertson: When I developed the
five pillars, it was to accomplish a number of
things. Number one, I think it creates a relatable
conversation, so even if I’m talking to members
of Congress, there’s not a single pillar they don’t
understand or have a personal connection to,
and I think the pillars helped create more of a
unified conversation.
“I’m thrilled that we’re marching
forward in championing the
importance of addressing all five
of these critical societal issues.”
One of the pillars has to do with how we better
support family caregivers. Products of that are
the RAISE and Suppor ting Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren Act councils, along with a number
of other initiatives. If I had to rank all five of
them, I would probably put the caregiver pillar as
the top one.
The second pillar of connecting people to resources,
remains a critical and fundamental service we need
to offer folks in need. Whether it’s an issue they’re
confronting themselves or in support of a loved
one, it’s how do we, quickly and effectively, get
them the information they need to move forward
down the right path.
The third pillar involves how we better protect
peoples’ rights and prevent abuse. One in ten older
adults are abused, neglected, or exploited a year and
four in ten are financially exploited. We continue to
lead the federal government’s efforts and chair the
federal government’s Elder Justice Coordinating
Council of 14 federal agencies. We are pleased with
some of the advances we’re making around policy,
research, and a variety of other things that will help
advance the work in this area.
The fourth pillar involves supporting our network.
We’re very proud at ACL to support nearly 20,000
community-based organizations (CBO) delivering
service every day. How do we help bolster business
acumen and make sure they’re supported in ways
to make them more successful, not just in their
current work, but heading into a new future.
The fifth pillar is employment. The President
is a big believer, as we all know, in what that
means economically. You would be surprised at
how many older adults, either want to re-enter
the workforce or to remain in the workforce
and we want to suppor t them in that ef for t. Our
biggest focus has been on helping increase the
number of people with disabilities who want to
be employed. We’ve put together a task force
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