County Unveils New ‘Aging Roadmap’ for San Diego’s Older Population

By 2025, San Diego will have more than 1 million residents over the age of 55, a statistic that has prompted the county to develop a regional plan that ensures safe aging in our communities. The ‘Aging Roadmap’ plan was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday by County’s Health and Human Services. It highlights existing programs and also explores a variety of new opportunities to be implemented in the coming years. With a focus on developing a supportive community, the plan will look at ways to ensure older adults are able to maintain a good standard of living in the San Diego county.

“This roadmap takes all the current partnerships between government and community partners and presents a vision for the future where we can build on existing programs to attain the Live Well San Diego vision of a region that is healthy, safe and thriving for everyone including older adults.”

-Kimberly Gallo, Aging & Independence Services Director.

Age Well is a current part of the Live Well San Diego vision, which focus on areas of health and community support, housing, social participation, transportation, and dementia-friendly programs. The newly proposed Aging Roadmap will add five new focus areas to work on. 

• Caregiver Support – ensuring caregivers have readily available access to quality support and resources to ensure responsive and manageable care to older adults 
• Safety – implementing public awareness campaigns of elder abuse, in addition to providing legal support to prevent such occurrences 
• Preparedness – providing training to first responders to better suit the needs of older adults during emergencies 
• Silver economy – promoting opportunities for older adults to participate in local businesses and volunteer work, while developing protections for older workers who need or wish to stay in the workforce. 
• Medical and social services system – maintain quality preventative health services and reduce the overall risks of food insecurity and social isolation. 

“Together these ten areas encompass a complete vision for the San Diego region, from the personal, in-home experience of caregivers, to the community-wide infrastructure of housing and transportation,” said Gallo. San Diego’s Live Well vision is shaping up to ensure that its residents have the proper services, opportunities, and care to live a happy and fulfilled live well into the later stages of life.