3-Year Plan Aims to Make LA Senior Citizen Friendly

LOS ANGELES, CA - City and county officials introduced an effort today to ensure the Los Angeles region is responsive to the needs of the area's aging population.

Under the Purposeful Aging Los Angeles initiative, the city and county will develop a three-year action plan to make the Los Angeles region more "age- friendly" in the areas of civic engagement, transportation, employment, support and health services.

Organizers will solicit input from the area's aging population, as well as educational, community and business groups, and participate in AARP's Network of Age-Friendly Communities, which links Los Angeles with an international network headed by the World Health Organization that is helping cities meet the needs of their aging populations.

The Los Angeles area's population of people over 65 is expected to nearly double from 1.1 million to 2.1 million between 2010 and 2030.

"With an older adult population that is rapidly growing, we must prepare our communities for the future of aging in Los Angeles County," County Supervisor Hilda Solis said. "As we make our county more age-friendly, we are expanding our shared commitment to the older adults who contribute so much to our communities."

Mayor Eric Garcetti also signed an executive directive today to create a city task force to examine and come up with ways to make the city more "age- friendly."

"Everyone in our dynamic and diverse city contributes to making Los Angeles an incredible place to live, work, and raise a family," Garcetti said. "That's why today, we commit ourselves to better understanding and meeting the needs of older Angelenos, a growing population that deserves our attention and respect."

The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the UCLA Los Angeles Community Academic Partnership for Research in Aging are also working with officials on the initiative.

City News Service; Photo: www.flickr.com