HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 8-d - Older Americans Month Proclamation
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 1, 2018
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-d
SUBJECT: Older Americans Month Proclamation
DEPARTMENT: Aging and Advisory Board on
Aging
ATTACHMENT(S):
Older Americans Month Proclamation
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Janice Tyler, Director, 245-4255
Margaret Cohn, Chair, Advisory Board
on Aging
PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation joining Federal and State governments in designating
the month of May as Older Americans Month and a time to honor older adults for their
contributions to the community.
BACKGROUND: May is Older Americans Month, a tradition dating back to 1963. For many
years the Orange County Board of Commissioners has issued a proclamation for Older
Americans Month. This year’s national theme is Engage at Every Age. The theme emphasizes
that you are never too old (or young) to take part in activities that can enrich your physical,
mental, and emotional well-being. It also celebrates the many ways in which older adults make
a difference in communities. It encompasses the idea that getting older does not mean what it
used to. For many aging Americans, it is a phase of life where interests, goals and dreams can
get a new and second start. Today, aging is about eliminating outdated perceptions and
redefining the way you want to age.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Older Americans Act into law in July 1965. Since that
time, the Act has provided a nationwide aging services network and funding that helps older
adults live with dignity in the communities of their choice for as long as possible. These services
include senior centers, daily lunch programs, caregiver support, community-based assistance,
preventive health services, elder abuse prevention, and much more.
While the Department on Aging offers outstanding programs and services to older adults year-
round, Older Americans Month offers an opportunity to emphasize how older adults can access
the home- and community-based services they need to live independently in their communities.
It is also an occasion to highlight how older adults are engaging with and making a difference in
their communities. Orange County’s Project EngAGE Senior Leaders are shining examples of
how it is to Engage at Every Age. They are engaging in their communities and reinventing
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themselves through new work and new passions. Their work is organized into eight Senior
Resource Teams working in the following areas: Faith Based Outreach; Senior Falls Prevention
and Health Promotion; End of Life Choices; Neighborhood Connections, Senior Rural Hunger;
Senior Transportation and Mobility; Caregiver Support Team; and Community Visiting. With the
recent Project EngAGE graduates the County is expanding the Senior Resource Teams to also
include the areas of Mental Health and Aging; Long Term Care; Intergenerational Aging; Aging
Policy and Advocacy; and LGBTQ and Aging.
Today there are over 26,000 Orange County residents who are 60+ and, of that group, over
1,800 who are over age 85. As large numbers of baby boomers reach retirement age, the goal
is to keep them physically and socially active through their 80s and beyond. Lifelong
participation in community, social, creative and physical activities have proven health benefits,
including retaining mobility, muscle mass and cognitive abilities. But older adults are not the
only ones who benefit from their engagement in community life. Studies show their interactions
with family, friends, and neighbors across generations enrich the lives of everyone involved.
In honor of this year’s theme, Engage at Every Age, everyone is challenged to get engaged by
participating in activities that promote mental and physical wellness, offering wisdom and
experience to the next generation, or seeking mentorship of someone with more life experience
than you. No matter where you are in life there is no better time than now to start living life to
the fullest.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with approval of the
proclamation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable
to this item:
• GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary
for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their
dependents.
The Older Americans Act provides funding for senior centers, daily lunch programs, caregiver
support, preventive health services, transportation and other community based assistance.
• GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and
volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation.
The County’s Volunteer Connect 55+ program along with Project EngAGE is committed to
engaging volunteers to assist in meeting the growing needs of older adults in the community.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the proclamation
designating May as Older Americans Month and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROCLAMATION
Older Americans Month – May 2018
Theme - “Engage at Every Age”
Whereas, Orange County includes over 26,000 persons aged 60 and older who enrich and
strengthen the community; and
Whereas, Orange County is committed to engaging and supporting older adults, their families,
and caregivers; and
Whereas, we acknowledge the importance of taking part in activities that promote physical,
mental and emotional well-being – no matter your age; and
Whereas, Orange County can enrich the lives of individuals of every age by:
• Promoting home and community based services that support independent living;
• Involving older adults in community planning, events, and other activities; and
• Providing opportunities for older adults to work, volunteer, learn, lead and mentor.
Now Therefore , we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim May
2018 to be Older Americans Month and urge every resident to take time this month to recognize
older adults and the people that serve them as vital parts of our community.
This the 1st day of May, 2018.
_________________________________
Mark Dorosin, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
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