What – Conference on Aging
When – Oct. 2
Where – UNK Nebraskan Student Union, Ponderosa Room
12:15 to 1 p.m. – Hugo Gonzalez, an adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Richard H. Young Hospital, will present “My Life as an Immigrant.”
1 to 2 p.m. – Alana Schriver, refugee specialist at Omaha Public Schools, will present “Refugee Resettlement – Around the World to Nebraska and the Impact on the Older Adult.”
2:15 to 3 p.m. – Aura Whitney-Jackson, a social worker, will present “Social and Cultural Adjustments of the Elder Immigrant – from a Personal and Professional Perspective.”
3 to 4 p.m. – Alana Schriver, refugee specialist at Omaha Public Schools, “The Path to Citizenship.”
Cost – $40 for individuals; Agencies get $10 discount per attendee after first individual fee of $40; UNK students, faculty and seniors 60 and over are free.
More Information – Nadine Stuehm, 308.865.8738, stuehmnj@unk.edu
By SARA GIBONEY
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – “Invisible Immigrants: Challenges of Elderly Immigration” is the topic for the third annual Conference on Aging at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
“We want to emphasize the concerns of the elderly population,” said Nadine Stuehm, a senior lecturer in criminal justice and social work. “It’s such a growing population, and we’re going to need more social workers in that field. It’s a way to get students interested in elder services.”
Elderly immigrants often have a difficult time assimilating into communities, she said.
“When I think of immigration, I think of young kids or young families. We just forget that there’s this whole group that come to join their families,” Stuehm said.
The conference is Oct. 2 in the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room. It is sponsored by the UNK Department of Social Work and Cambridge Court.
Hugo Gonzalez, an adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Richard H. Young Hospital, will present “My Life as an Immigrant” from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
Gonzalez recently became an American citizen and will share his experience as an immigrant in America. He is licensed in psychiatry
and earned his medical degree from Anahuac University and National Autonomous University of Mexico.
From 1 to 2 p.m., Alana Schriver, a refugee specialist at Omaha Public Schools, will present “Refugee Resettlement – Around the World to Nebraska and the Impact on the Older Adult.”
Schriver worked as a caseworker for Lutheran Family Services in a refugee resettlement in Omaha for four years. She also spent three years living and working overseas in refugee camp health clinics.
Schriver will present a second talk, “The Path to Citizenship,” from 3 to 4 p.m.
Aura Whitney-Jackson, a social worker, will present “Social and Cultural Adjustments of the Elder Immigrant – from a Personal and Professional Perspective.” Her presentation is from 2:15 to 3 p.m.
She is a Panamanian native and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a master’s degree in social work. She worked as a community liaison for the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Whitney-Jackson was a driving force for the development of the Intercultural Senior Center in Omaha. She also was a caregiver for her elderly immigrant parents.
“Her perspective is really very personal in terms of her own caregiving and as a professional advocating for that population,” Stuehm said.
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Independence Day recently honored her work with the Hispanic community in Omaha.
Registration for the conference begins at noon. The cost is $40 for individuals. For agencies, the cost is $40 for the first attendee and $30 for all others from the same agency.
Registration for UNK students, faculty and seniors 60 and over is free. Social workers and others in attendance can earn 3.5 CEU credits.
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