Aging in Our Community A Message from W. Mark Clark, President and CEO
As we enter this special season of the year, I am even more faced with the awareness that costs have skyrocketed for the most fundamental human needs like food and housing. While this is a hardship felt by many of us, older people are especially vulnerable. It comes down to simple and very stark math- retirement and social security income is static while the cost of living is ballooning. For many people on a fixed income, it’s a massive struggle to afford basic necessities , and one unexpected expense like a home repair or rent increase can send a household spiraling into crisis. Folks don’t have enough to pay for the steep rent increases and high prices cascading across our community. People in their seventies and eighties are encountering the possibility of life on the streets, something they never in their lifetime thought they’d have to face. We are working tirelessly to help those who come through our doors in dire straits. Older adults right here in Pima County are facing unprecedented crises and homelessness and we can’t address this issue without your help. By donating to PCOA you are helping people like Shirley and Mando, a married couple in their eighties who walked through our doors feeling like they had nowhere to turn . After renting the same place for over 20 years, their home was sold to an investor, and they couldn’t find anywhere else with affordable rent.
They were calling homeless shelters but wouldn’t be able to take their beloved cat with them and were heartbroken at the thought of losing her. The PCOA intake staff immediately connected Mando with the community crisis response team to get him the mental health assistance he needed. We also helped them navigate requests to several of our affordable housing community partners, and they found a home that was opening up soon. PCOA paid for Mando, Shirley, and their cat to stay at a motel for a couple of nights so they wouldn’t have to sleep on the streets until they could move to their new home. We wish we could tell you that every housing crisis is resolved this tidily. The sad fact is that we do the best we can for everyone who comes through our doors, but we have no ongoing funding for housing assistance and the amount of help we can provide is directly proportionate to how many donations come in from supporters like you. When you contribute to PCOA you are giving a life-changing gift to people like Wallace. He bought his Tucson home in the 1980s and has lived there ever since. As an injured war veteran with a fixed income, he couldn’t keep up with the cost and physical demands of home maintenance. When his water heater stopped working 5 years ago, Wallace started heating water on the stove and transporting it to his tub to bathe.
When his mobility further declined to the point of needing a walker, Wallace realized he could no longer safely haul boiling water across his home. He called PCOA for help and within days our home repair program had delivered a water heater to his home, covered the cost of installation, and as well as installing grab bars in his shower. Wallace can live at home safely and independently because of the help he received from PCOA. We are proud and honored to be doing this work, but it is impossible without your help. When you make a gift to PCOA you are quite literally saving the lives of older people. PCOA is doing the critically important work of making sure that older people have their basic needs met and can live their later years without the shadow of food insecurity or homelessness. During this season of giving, we hope you’ll give older adults the gift of empowerment and dignity. Thank you for for being a friend to older adults in our community, and I wish you a health and happy new year. With gratitude,
W.Mark Clark President & CEO
December 2022, Never Too Late | Page 3
Pima Council on Aging
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