Senior Community Centers

Advocacy

 

Low-income senior citizens with limited resources often have no voice when it comes to legislation that will improve their standard of living. Many suffer from malnutrition because they can’t afford nutritious food. Others are disabled and confined to their homes, making shopping difficult. Still others face mounting medical bills that eat up their entire monthly income. And some, because of poverty and other issues including mental illness, are homeless and unable to find a way out of the cycle of despair and hopelessness on their own.

Senior Community Centers concentrates its advocacy efforts in each of these areas with a goal to increase the availability of affordable and supportive housing options, maintain federal and state funding for senior nutrition programs, and improve medical and mental health service delivery systems at a reasonable cost for this rapidly growing population.

As catalysts for change, we are confident that these increased advocacy efforts will raise the awareness of critical issues among legislators, service providers and the general public thereby leading to increased funding for programs which ensure that a greater number of seniors receive quality, uniformly-defined supportive services.

• New Research Shows Cost of Living for San Diego Seniors is Grossly Underestimated (press release)
• San Diego County Elder Economic Security Standard Index (basic monthly expenses chart for elderly)
• Insight Center for Community and Economic Development (description of Elder Economic Security Initative and Standards)
• Plan to Increase Awareness, Critical Funding (Serving Seniors Winter 2008 Newsletter)
• Grant for "Advocacy Project" Received from The California Endowment (press release)
• Specific Advocacy Efforts : Nutrition; Affordable Housing; Health Care; Mental Health; Individual Staff Involvement