Sixth District Councilmember Dee Andrews, during the Oct. 6 Long Beach City Council meeting, brought forward an item that will explore the feasibility of implementing an Office on Aging.
The idea is to have all services from organizations in the city, county and state in one place for Long Beach’s older citizens.
The agenda item is co-authored by Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, 4th District Councilmember Daryl Supernaw and 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga.
Andrews also proposed updating the Long Beach Strategic Plan for Older Adults, which strives to improve the lives of Long Beach’s seniors with better services.
He said it is “extremely important” to provide these resources to seniors in the community.
“The foundation for an office like this— it is extremely important, and this is why I included the request to update the Long Beach Strategic Plan for Older Adults,” Andrews said. “The plan outlines the needs of our aging community members.”
Cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have realized the necessity and adopted an Office on Aging, according to Andrews’s office.
As for Long Beach, a response from the health department will determine the possibility of creating the office. The office’s location will most likely be at the Long Beach Health Department, located at 2525 Grand Ave., according to Andrews.
With potential grant funds covering the cost, the project is expected to be up and running in six months. The city council will address the Office on Aging item in one of its future meetings to determine the details, along with the possible updates for the Long Beach Strategic Plan for Older Adults.
The strategic plan itself requires a call to action, Andrews said. The purpose was to address the needs of the elderly, including safety, transportation, housing, health and improving quality of life, but only a few of those issues have been addressed thus far, according to Andrews’s office.
Andrews’s office also stated that Long Beach has the largest elderly population within its borders, home to 65,000 senior citizens, but that it’s also the most underserved.
Councilmember Uranga attributed the large population of seniors to the “baby boomer” generation, a population that will only continue to grow. It’s one of many reasons to deal with the situation now, he said.
“What I’m seeing with the Office on Aging is having a different focus,” he said. “Types of services for seniors need to be more comprehensive than what we’ve had.”
Uranga referenced the Long Beach Senior Center at 1150 E. 4th St. as an example. A place of recreation for the elderly, that center has had its services, such as the free senior meals program, “drastically cut back,” reducing the amount of people eligible.
The specifics for the Office on Aging project are sparse, but Uranga listed medical care, field trips and classes as possibilities for the program.
As a 62-year-old himself, Uranga jokingly mentioned he’s not quite a senior yet, but that he’s right “at the cusp.” Regardless, an Office on Aging is a welcome addition to city services.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “It’s certainly something for me to look forward to in the future, and obviously it’s not only about me, it’s about everybody like me and the future generation of people who are going to become my age. It’s about having something in place for them.”
These services are the kind that would make a senior’s way of life all the more “golden,” Andrews said.
“As a senior citizen, I know first-hand some of the difficulties that we seniors face,” Andrews said. “Creating an office dedicated to serving the needs of my generations would make the golden years, the best years.”
