Older Adult Survey Offers a Snapshot of Needs
We all experienced adverse effects around the COVID-19 pandemic, but there have been unexpected benefits. At JFS, for example, we found new ways to connect with people throughout our community, identified ways to adjust our programs to be still able to help people, and became even more aware of the importance of meeting their needs. The pandemic was eye-opening. Whether barriers were related to COVID-19 or just illuminated by the crisis, our Aging Care and Connections (ACC) team continues finding ways to serve the older adult population better.
Working with the Colorado Health Institute (CHI), the ACC team conducted a community-wide needs assessment to identify gaps in the available programs and services for older adults. Our goal was to use the assessment findings to build the capacity to launch new programs to meet those needs— and we wanted tangible recommendations for the non-profit sector to address.
The needs assessment took a phased approach, including a literature review and current resource evaluation. An advisory group of aging subject matter experts in fields like philanthropy, government, direct service, and medicine was established to guide the process, and older adults throughout the Denver metro area received surveys and participated in focus groups and key informant interviews.
The assessment is complete, and we’ve recently met with our older adult stakeholders, including aging services providers, funders, and government agencies, to review the report and recommendations—while encouraging partnership and collaboration opportunities.
Our next steps from the assessment findings include the following:
Working on partnerships with other organizations to strategize on recommendations.
Looking for new funding opportunities to expand homemaker services and pantry delivery services.
Building capacity for care management services through our care manager assistant apprentice program.
Exploring partnerships for handyperson services or launching a handyperson service at JFS.
Advocating for legislation impacting older adults, specifically SB23-058 and SB23-031.
Hosting reframing aging training opportunities with staff and partner organizations.
Exploring a “train the trainer” model for improving tech literacy and access with older adults.
Exploring different funding streams to augment current funding levels, which are not robust enough to cover the needs.
We look forward to sharing updates with you in future communications.