Orange County NC Website
<br />Janice Tyler began her Director’s Report by updating the Advisory Board on the progress being made for <br />the transfer of the Chatham County VITA service to its Council on Aging. Chatham will apply for IRS <br />support separately in future years but the Orange County Department on Aging will continue to provide <br />the training for both counties. Also, students from UNC’s School of Public Policy have spent this <br />semester gathering information about the Department’s RSVP division and the impact of discontinuing its <br />federal funding as of March 31, 2015. A summary of the students’ findings will be presented to staff and <br />RSVP advisory council members on November 19. <br /> <br />Mary Fraser reported that a delegation of Japanese service providers interested in American housing <br />options for older adults visited Orange County on November 5. They visited the Seymour Center and <br />Carol Woods and shared their country’s model for multi-generational day care in a homelike setting, their <br />lack of accessible housing, and their challenge with hospitals serving as their long term care facilities. <br /> <br />Janice Tyler continued that the Department’s Housing Expo held on October 25 was very successful with <br />20 resource booths as well as eight presentations; this may become the basis for future Aging Resource <br />Fairs. And, despite the rainy weather on November 1, more than 100 persons participated in the UNC <br />School of Pharmacy’s student-sponsored 10th Annual Aging In Stride 5k event. Alex Castro announced <br />that Habitat for Humanity will hold a dedication this Friday for a new duplex built for seniors and <br />managed by the Town of Chapel Hill. Discussion followed on other affordable housing issues. <br /> <br />Ms. Tyler announced that the second Project EngAGE class is entering its ninth week of training while <br />year one’s graduates are still meeting monthly. She will be holding orientation for the three recently- <br />appointed Advisory Board members in the near future. The Board of County Commissioners will receive <br />the County space study findings at its November 18 meeting. She concluded her report by stating that the <br />annual Thanksgiving Celebration will be held on November 21 at the Central Orange Senior Center. <br /> <br />Discussion of the Advisory Board’s Annual Report to the Board of County Commissioners prompted <br />discussion of possible state budget cuts and the need to inform local legislators of the need for continued <br />aging services funding. A position paper based upon the information gathered for the Annual Report will <br />be helpful in this education process. The Chair encouraged including human interest stories with the <br />statistics in the report. <br /> <br />For the Master Aging Plan update Mary Fraser reported that she met with Alex Castro and Eileen <br />Apicella to review the initiatives specific to transportation in Year 3: rural public service expansion and <br />complete streets policy promotion. Janice Tyler suggested that the complete streets suggestions could be <br />recommended to the Board of County Commissioners for their next legislative agenda package. For the <br />faith-based initiative the Project EngAGE graduates are organizing a March 5 event and inviting the 155 <br />religious organizations that exist in Orange County. <br /> <br />Heather Altman announced that next Wednesday Dr. Gary Gunderson will speak at Carol Woods on Faith <br />and Health, the Memphis Model. Next Tuesday is National Memory Screening Day with screenings held <br />at each Senior Center. Winston Liao added that November is also COPD month, with most over age 65. <br /> <br />There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br />Janice Tyler, Secretary <br />