Aging in Our Community
A Message from W. Mark Clark, President and CEO
Regular readers of Never Too Late are probably aware that PCOA must prepare and submit an Area Plan to the state every four years describing our plans for the next four years. It is an in-depth process that starts with a Community Assessment. When the process began last fall, we held eleven in-person and virtual listening sessions throughout Pima County, had several focus group meetings for people who work in the aging service field, and distributed our extensive survey to the community. More than 3,500 people completed this survey, our largest response ever. Early in the upcoming fall, we will publish our 2023 Report to the Community, which will include the survey results and much more. You will be hearing more about this entire project in the coming months. I’m sharing this background information with you because, as I reviewed some Area Plan data yesterday, one of the findings jumped out at me - the rate of loneliness respondents reported. Part of why it jumped out at me was because, just last month, the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, called attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country. Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. But what we heard in our Community Assessment was staggering. Overall, 74% of respondents who ranged in age from 50 to over 90 reported they experienced feelings of loneliness. That number increases with age, with 82% of the 90+ population reporting loneliness, but even 71% of the 50-59-year-olds reported those feelings.
Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical, and societal health. In fact, loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking more than a pack of cigarettes daily. We really appreciate U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Murthy calling attention to this terrible epidemic, but let’s face it, declaring a public health emergency is one thing, and solving it is another. The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation lays out a framework for a National Strategy to Advance Social Connection, which has never been implemented in the United States. It details recommendations that individuals, governments, workplaces, health systems, and community organizations can take to increase connection in their lives, communities, and across the country and improve their health. The Report takes the first and key step in that direction, by setting forth six key strategies: (1) Strengthen Social Infrastructure in Local Communities, (2) Enact Pro Connection Public Policies, (3) Mobilize the Health Sector, (4) Reform Digital Environments, (5) Deepen Knowledge, and (6) Build a Culture of Connection. Here at PCOA, we see the impact of isolation among vulnerable older adults, and we practice a commitment to making connections every day. We see the positive effect when a Pima Meals on Wheels driver delivers a nourishing meal to a person at home. We know that the delivery of a meal is very often the only
social interaction experienced by the homebound person. There are a host of ways to take small steps every day to engage and connect. Maybe consider joining one of our Healthy Living Program offerings at our Katie Dusenberry Healthy Aging Center in midtown or across the community in partnership with the City of Tucson and Pima County-operated recreation centers (Find out more about Healthy Living Program classes on pages 15 & 16) . We even have virtual opportunities at TheKatie.org website. Engagement for individuals navigating the journey of caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia can include signing up to join a support group or experience a Memory Café where people living with dementia and their caregivers can connect in a safe and welcoming place for a relaxing, creative outing. Over the last few years, I’ve written about the practice of being neighborly. Now I am redoubling my call to action for all of us to be more neighborly in everyday life practices. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Murthy’s framework for a national strategy to advance social connection defines one pillar of the national strategy this way: Cultivate a Culture of Connection. Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Together we can do this.
W.Mark Clark President & CEO
June 2023, Never Too Late | Page 3
Pima Council on Aging
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