Before she was appointed Director of the Yonkers Office for the Aging, Kelly Chiarella held another cherished title: Neighbor.
As a Yonkers resident, Kelly has always made sure to take special care of the people who make up her community. Known for her warmth and attentiveness, she’s a familiar and comforting face to many.
In 2014, the Mayor of Yonkers, Mike Spano, recognized Kelly’s passion for her community and used it to the city’s advantage by selecting her to lead the Office for the Aging—knowing that Yonkers seniors would be embraced by her compassion.
Kelly speaks about the seniors she serves with heartfelt empathy. To her, they are far more than clients: “These are our neighbors and our friends.”
And her job of helping them never seems to have a dull moment. She describes her daily tasks as multifaceted. As she puts it, “My day can go from working with a person, to managing writing a grant, to pulling stats and all different things—and I love that about this job.”
The Office for the Aging plays a significant role in the life journey of Yonkers seniors. It serves as a lifeline during some of their most challenging moments. “We service seniors all over the City of Yonkers. When people are in trouble and they need help with home support. If they’ve gotten a bad diagnosis. If they are coming out of the hospital or their spouse passed away—they are financially in trouble… they come to us.”
The office operates through federal and state grant funding that supports programs like case management, transportation, housing assistance, and home-delivered meals.
Kelly reflects on the scale of these services: “Food is probably the largest service. We provide home-delivered and congregate meals—we delivered 86,000 meals last year.”
So, why is access to nutritious meals crucial for seniors?
Kelly explains the increasing importance of services like the Senior Grocery Program that the office offers. “Our seniors are looking at every single avenue of having to receive a healthy, nutritious meal instead of something they can afford that may not be healthy… groceries are an important part of that and are becoming more important with rising costs and possible cuts to SNAP.”
The results of these efforts are profound—allowing seniors to have a higher standard of living. This is the major goal of the Office for the Aging. “They come here, they get their groceries once a month, they get a hot lunch with us. They do their exercise programs and are socially engaged. All of that adds to their lifespan and quality of life.”
Feeding Westchester plays an important role in supporting seniors’ quality of life by supplying monthly groceries.
Kelly put the significance of this partnership simply: “It’s always been a stable resource for us. Our seniors depend on it… Feeding Westchester is fantastic at accommodating our growth… they’re a great partner.”
She even recalled how critical Feeding Westchester’s support was during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Feeding Westchester was very willing to get the food for our clients, but they didn’t have a place to deliver to… so downstairs was just a sea of food coming in from Feeding Westchester constantly.”
That level of commitment mirrors Kelly’s own philosophy: to go above and beyond when serving others.
This commitment has transformed into something deeply personal for Kelly. She believes in a system that helps individuals one-on-one. And it’s these intimate connections that have left the biggest impact.
Kelly speaks to this impact, sharing, “I just sat with a man who is blind and has hearing loss, living in an apartment that he’s not going to have for much longer, that is not safe living… I got him help—the impact is down to the person.”
Kelly looks after her neighbors and is never blinded to their needs. She is a strong force who fights for those who are not able to fight for themselves.
Because of Kelly, Yonkers is a city where people can grow older with dignity, support, and community. And thanks to partners like Feeding Westchester, they do so with nourishment and care!
