Dallas-Fort Worth was recently ranked 10^th in U.S. cities with the highest senior population (age 65 and older). This number is only expected to increase with the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimate that before 2020, elderly adults will begin to outnumber young children across America. To accommodate the needs for seniors at every stage of their lives in North Texas, we must do more to help older Americans age with dignity. We must plan for a future of parents aging differently than our grandparents and the generation that came before them. With this in mind, VNA and The Senior Source recently announced a collaborative effort to build an Action Plan for North Texas. The goal is to create a better system of service for seniors with support from the Better Together Fund. The completed report will be shared in spring 2018 with a large group of community stakeholders.

VNA and The Senior Source hope the report will build awareness of senior needs, as well as advocate for the creation of a community-wide action plan to better meet the needs of the growing senior population.

While agency-to-agency and city-to-agency partnership is helpful, we must also collaborate as individual citizens to maintain the wellbeing of our elderly friends, neighbors and loved ones. Here are some of the New Year’s resolutions we can all be part of to make our city more committed to aging issues:

• Give the gift of TIME. Nearly half of the residents of senior living facilities in North Texas have ZERO visitors each year. If you can’t stop by a senior housing facility, make time to visit an older friend or neighbor. Or volunteer to deliver Meals on Wheels; it’s a great way to donate time to visit with homebound seniors who live in poverty and are isolated.

• Watch for signs of financial insecurity. Twenty percent of the households helped by Dallas Public Housing Authority programs are headed by adults age 62 or older. Nationwide, 9.6 million adults over age 50 spend more than half their income on housing, reducing their ability to pay for food and healthcare and the save for retirement. Help connect a senior you know with a service organization if you see signs that he/she is struggling to make ends meet.

• Be part of the conversation about our city’s infrastructure and its plans for a “senior friendly” future. Join the dialogue and help plan for a community that provides public transportation, vibrant senior centers, and social services that specifically support older adults and their caregivers.

• Create change. Whether checking in on a neighbor on an icy day or attending a city planning meeting, share your efforts on social media with #IStand4Seniors to show others how we can all be part of the solution one action at a time.

Now more than ever, it is time to elevate the conversation to ensure seniors in North Texas are heard and are getting the care they need and deserve. We must come together as a community to ensure seniors have the necessary tools to thrive while working collaboratively to meet the needs of older adults long into the future.

Katherine Krause
CEO & President
VNA

Cortney Nicolato
President & CEO
The Senior Source

This article was originally published as an editorial in The Dallas Moring News on January 1, 2018.