Advocacy
Community Needs Assessment
VOTE: Your Voice Makes All the Difference!
Next month we can all make a profound impact on our democracy. The 2022 mid- term elections will be held on November 8th . This election is of the utmost importance because our advocacy always begins at the ballot box. The people we elect are the same people we need to talk to about issues like increasing funding for the Older Americans Act, Social Security and Medicare reform, and all other advocacy issues. There are several things to keep in mind as you begin to think about how you’ll exercise your right to vote this fall. First and foremost, don’t forget to register to vote or update your voter registration if you’ve had any major life changes such as moving since you last voted. The last day to register to vote is October 11 for the 2022 election. You can register at https:// servicearizona.com/VoterRegistration/ selectLanguage. If you’re voting by mail, don’t forget to return your ballot no later that November 1 by mail. In Arizona, your ballot is only counted if it is received by the Recorder on or before election day, so make sure you drop your ballot in the mail by November 1. To request an early ballot call (520) 724-4330 before October 28. If you’d like to vote early but don’t want to mail in a ballot, then voting early in person is the option for you. Across the County there are 15 early voting sites (https://www.recorder.pima.gov/ EarlyVotingSites#emergency%20Voting) you can go to these sites prior to election day and vote early in person. If you’d like to vote on election day, you have two options. First is dropping off a
By Maddy Bynes
In late August, PCOA launched its community needs assessment. PCOA conducts a community needs assessment every four years consisting of a survey, various focus groups, and listening sessions open to the community to give their input on aging services in Pima County. PCOA’s last community needs assessment was in 2016 and findings were published in PCOA’s A Report to the Community , which can be found at pcoa.org. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PCOA worked to informally assess community need in 2020 and 2021, though a formal needs assessment was put on hold to focus resources and energy towards providing services most in need at the time. These findings, over the past several years, have been extremely influential in PCOA’s advocacy. Using these data, PCOA staff can better represent the rights and needs of older adults at the local, state, and federal level. Help us learn what needs are today! So many needs have changed since 2016 and continue to shift as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit needs.pcoa.org and take our community needs assessment survey today. The survey is available to anyone 50 years of age and older. The data we collect will better inform our advocacy moving forward.
filled-out ballot at any polling location across Pima County. For traditional, in- person voting, Pima County has numerous voting centers located across the county. Visit https://web1.pima.gov/applications/ votingcenters/ to find a voting center nearest to you. For questions on voting please call the Pima County Recorder’s office at (520) 724-4330. Most of all, don’t forget that voting by November 8 is critical to supporting older adults and those who love them. We don’t encourage you on who to vote for, but we do encourage you to get out there and vote!
Scan the QR code to access the community needs assessment survey.
If you would like to participate in a community listening session in English or Spanish, please attend any of the sessions listed on page 29.
October 2022, Never Too Late | Page 25
Pima Council on Aging
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