Organizational Advocacy
Serving Seniors is not only committed to providing the services and support older adults need to thrive. We are also committed to preserving and expanding the infrastructures that make these services and supports possible.
Our advocacy team leverages the expertise and lived experiences of our staff and seniors to ensure the public stays informed and involved when it comes to the needs of low-income seniors. Our advocacy team includes:
Paul Downey, President & CEO
Melinda Forstey, Chief Operations Officer
Serving Seniors’ Board of Directors
Serving Seniors’ Civic Engagement Group
Areas of ongoing advocacy at the local, state, and national level include:
- Increased funding for senior meals
- Increasing the availability and accessibility of affordable senior housing
- System-level changes to address the growth in senior homelessness
- Protection and expansion of social security, Medicare, Medi-Cal, and Denti-Cal
- Senior-friendly public policies that address social isolation, the digital divide, and age-friendly communities
Find out how you can support this work here.
SERVING SENIORS’ SENIOR HOMELESSNESS & HOUSING INITATIVE
Addressing homelessness is a top priority across the nation, including within the City of San Diego and our County. In recent years, Serving Seniors has noticed an alarming increase in the number of our clients who are experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk of homelessness. Our Senior Housing and Homelessness Initiative is a responsive effort to try and capitalize on the momentum within our community to better serve San Diego’s low-income seniors. Our first step towards this goal is a local needs assessment to capture the insights and experiences of older adults and homeless service providers.
For details on Serving Seniors’ Senior Housing and Homelessness Initiative, click here.
