During Felicitas Hernandez’ childhood, elderly relatives and neighbors were held in high esteem. Today, many older people are ignored, treated as burdens or even abused.

When they finally seek help, Hernandez – casework manager at La Voz del Anciano (The Voice of the Elderly) – is one of their staunchest advocates.

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For Hernandez, the approximately 1,600 Spanish-speaking senior citizens served by La Voz, 6303 Forest Park, are more than clients – they are neighbors and friends.

They remind her, in many ways, of the elderly couple she befriended while growing up in Del Rio, little suspecting at the time that the relationship benefited both families.

Hernandez eased the couple’s loneliness while they gave her individual attention and enabled her mother to care for much younger siblings.

“I guess I started my social work there,” Hernandez says. “They never shut me out, and they let me talk about anything I wanted to ask any kind of question.”

Despite these childhood memories, it wasn’t until after she earned a degree in special education and worked briefly in that field that Hernandez acknowledged the strength of her affiliation with the elderly.

In the 1980s, she re-established her connection with the elderly, working with the East Dallas Senior Citizen Network/Youth Works, a social services agency.

“I never thought about working with the elderly until I met them in East Dallas,” says Hernandez, who remained with the neighborhood agency eight years.

“Now, I thoroughly enjoy it. They give you so much. They’re stubborn and feisty, and that keeps them going despite their poverty and poor health.

“They appreciate life, they’re willing to learn, and they say ‘thank you’ when someone helps them.

“They have great stories and great wisdom. They also have great pride in what little they have, and they’re willing to share it with you.”

Karen Roberts, supervisor of social work at Baylor Home Care and former director of the network, says Hernandez is comfortable around older people, able to put them at ease and help them through difficult situations.

“She’s a real down-to-earth person with second values,” Roberts says. “She’s a devoted worker and a very persistent advocate.”

Hernandez’ advocacy has extended beyond the boundaries of her career. She and Roberts also worked together with the East Dallas Neighborhood Association in a successful attempt to rezone the Mt. Auburn, Santa Fe and part of the Owenwood neighborhoods, protecting them from destruction by developers during the real estate boom of the early 1980s.

From her Citywide vantage point at La Voz, and as a resident of East Dallas, Hernandez can see changes occurring in the elderly population.

Many older people who stayed in East Dallas neighborhoods throughout their lives have died. Taking their place are families with children. And in many cases, young immigrant families have brought elderly relatives with them to Dallas.

Language problems and poverty contribute to confusion and isolation for some of the new elderly residents.

The needs of older longtime residents aren’t abating, either. Although many are too proud to ask, they may need help with home repairs, yard work, housework, food, clothing and utility bills, Hernandez says.

“One of the things that keeps me going is realizing that we’re all going to get old,” Hernandez says.

“And I just hope when I get there that someone is patient with me.”