At the front lines of California’s rapidly aging demographic, California mayors and local leaders are taking a fresh course of action to make their communities age-friendly, and more livable for everyone, as part of a growing international movement.
Aging
Falling stars are the stuff of Hollywood legend. Early film industry folklore had it that the Pacific coast was littered with the bodies of actors who failed to make the transition from silent movies to sound – victims of suicidal depression. While myth, the story nevertheless suggests that the fine line between success and failure in the City of Angels has always been dangerously thin.
The Accessible Yoga movement is introducing yoga to older adults and others not normally included in this largely young, white, middle-class movement: people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, those with different body types, and underserved communities.
In the heart of Los Angeles, the storytelling capital of the world, Paul Irving is busy changing the narrative of aging. Irving had already spent several years as head of The Milken Institute, a Los Angeles think tank shepherding dialogue on topics ranging from job creation to health and the global economy.
A group of mostly elders in their 80’s and 90’s liked coming to the Elders Academy presentations every Wednesday afternoon in the cozy Forget-Me-Not-Café, a part of our AgeSong assisted living community in San Francisco.
Everything I knew about aging was wrong. That was the first lesson I learned when I plunged headfirst into the world of aging as a reporter five years ago. What did I get so wrong?
Aging services in California are often hamstrung by dysfunction and uninspired leadership. To understand the problem, look no further than Alameda County’s top aging official.
Ron Robinson was ahead of his time. As California struggles to implement the Coordinated Care Initiative to improve the health of some of its most expensive patients – “dual eligibles” who qualify for both Medicare and Medi-Cal — Robinson recalls similar efforts in San Mateo County two decades ago.
The recent annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in New Orleans was one part aging celebration, one part madhouse as 450 sessions over five days celebrated the successes and challenges of aging – and there were challenges aplenty.
When the older adult news agency Next Avenue released its 2016 list of top 50 Influencers in Aging last month, it was rife with Californians, yet none so deeply involved in a dizzying array of initiatives than David Lindeman, director of the Oakland-based Center for Technology and Aging.