Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: May 5, 2016 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-a <br /> SUBJECT: Older Americans Month Proclamation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Aging and Advisory Board on <br /> Aging <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Janice Tyler, Director, 245-4255 <br /> Older Americans Month Proclamation Alex Castro, Chair, Advisory Board on <br /> Aging <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation joining Federal and State governments in designating <br /> the month of May as Older Americans Month and a time to honor older adults for their <br /> contributions to society and to Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: May is Older Americans Month, a tradition dating back to 1963. For many <br /> years the Orange County Board of Commissioners has issued a proclamation for Older <br /> Americans Month. This year's national theme is Blaze a Trail. The theme focuses on how older <br /> adults are leading and inspiring others; how we can support and learn from them; and how we <br /> might follow their examples to blaze trails of our own. <br /> President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Older Americans Act into law in July 1965. Since that <br /> time, the Act has provided a nationwide aging services network and funding that helps older <br /> adults live with dignity in the communities of their choice for as long as possible. These services <br /> include senior centers, daily lunch programs, caregiver support, community-based assistance, <br /> preventive health services, elder abuse prevention, and much more. <br /> While the Department on Aging offers outstanding programs and services to older adults year- <br /> round, Older Americans Month offers an opportunity to emphasize how older adults can access <br /> the home- and community-based services they need to live independently in their communities. <br /> It is also an occasion to highlight how older adults are engaging with and making a difference in <br /> their communities. The Senior Leaders from Project EngAGE are shining examples of blazing <br /> new trails by engaging in their communities and reinventing themselves through new work and <br /> new passions. This work is organized into eight Senior Resource Teams working in the <br /> following areas: Faith Based Outreach; Senior Falls Prevention and Health Promotion; End of <br /> Life Options; Neighborhood Connections, Senior Rural Hunger; Senior Transportation and <br /> Mobility; Caregiver Support Team; and Community Visiting. <br />