VNS Health has a special presence in Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown to help residents find local health and social programs. The VNS Health Chinatown Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NNORC) and our community center in Chinatown provide the support you need to stay healthy and safe.
About the Chinatown NNORC
Being a part of a community can help you stay connected and healthy as you get older. The Chinatown NNORC, located in the VNS Community Center in Chinatown, helps people who are 60 years or older and who live in a 24-block area of Chinatown.
The goal of the NNORC is to help people stay safe and connected in their homes as they age. The NNORC provides a wide range of services — both in the center and at home. Residents don’t need an appointment to get help.
NNORC services include:
- Social services
- Health assessments, education, linkage, and advocacy
- Support groups, including telephone-based groups for homebound people
- Blood pressure screenings
- Recreational activities, such as exercise and music programs
The NNORC is constantly growing and adapting to meet the needs of the community. In 2007, the NNORC had around 200 members. Now the program connects more than 600 Chinatown residents to services. NNORC team members are fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, so residents can access NNORC services in their preferred language.
Although offerings have long included social and health services, educational classes, and other ways to connect, the NNORC adapts to the needs of community members. For instance, it can be hard to tell when an older Chinese American person is feeling depressed, because they may hide these feelings. To address this, the NNORC educates members about mental health issues and trains social workers to recognize signs of depression in members.
The NNORC also collaborates with more than 40 other community organizations.
Support the Chinatown NNORC
The VNS Health Chinatown NNORC is supported in part by generous donations from people like you.
About the Community Center in Chinatown
The VNS Health Community Center in Chinatown is home to the Chinatown NNORC. The community center is a place for you to find the support you need as you age. It holds events to help you stay healthy, connects you to important health and social services, and even holds special holiday events.
Learn about VNS Health’s community centers.
How to Get to the Community Center in Chinatown
The community center is located in Chinatown in Lower Manhattan at 7 Mott Street.
The Chinatown NNORC program is funded in part by NY City Council Discretionary Fund, NYC Department for the Aging, UJA Federation New York Jeanette Solomon Grant, VNS Health and other Foundations. The NNORC also receives funding from the New York State Office for the Aging and acknowledges that its contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official view of the New York State Office for the Aging.
