County plans ahead with Age Well San Diego initiative

The county of San Diego took one more step toward being prepared for the future as the region faces a dramatic increase in the number of older adults.

The county board of supervisors approved moving forward with Age Well San Diego, a plan that merges the AARP age-friendly Communities and dementia-friendly America’s Dementia-friendly Communities programs.

The county’s Health and Human Services Agency has been assessing the needs of older adults in the county and holding community meetings the past two years to develop a blueprint for the challenges that lie ahead with an aging population. In 2010, there were just over 600,000 residents in San Diego County over the age of 55. That number is estimated to double to more than 1.2 million by the year 2030.

Age Well San Diego will begin implementing a plan over the next three years that addresses the key areas of health and community support, housing, social interaction, transportation and dementia-friendly environments.

Some of the goals of the plan include:

● Using and increasing access to technology

● Increasing affordable housing and programs to prevent homelessness

● Creating and expanding intergenerational programs

● Community involvement opportunities

● Ensuring a variety of transportation options are available and making communities more walkable

● Making the community dementia-friendly

● Working with the Alzheimer’s Project to maximize efforts

The county will be working with AARP, the San Diego Foundation and community groups and residents as the plan moves forward.