Petaluma seniors face health, housing challenges

A survey of Sonoma County seniors identifies key challenges and solutions.|

As Petaluma’s growing population ages, local officials and nonprofits are working to create opportunities for seniors to thrive despite a number of barriers, many of them made worse by October’s deadly fires.

The county’s elderly population faces a medley of issues, including feeling connected to their communities, access to transportation, housing, health care and employment, according to the results of a recent Age Friendly Sonoma County survey of about 1,000 residents and 11 focus groups. Sonoma County recently joined the global network of age-friendly communities and will follow a process designed by the World Health Organization to reach seniors and make municipalities more inclusive for all ages.

“An age-friendly community is a great place to grow up and grow old and help people stay active and engaged as long as they’re able to do so,” said Renee Tolliver, the director of social services for the Sonoma County Council on Aging.

Petaluma’s Senior Advisory Committee met Jan. 11 to review the results of the survey and take initial steps to create a blueprint for a plan that will be implemented over the course of the next three years. In Petaluma, nearly 30 percent of the population is over 55, though Petaluma-specific data from survey respondents wasn’t yet available.

The committee will host a public forum in coming weeks to gather public feedback about the results before meeting next month to nail down a local strategy.

“I’m excited but a little overwhelmed,” said Chairwoman Kristine Rebillot, communications manager for Novato-based Buck Institute for Research on Aging. “It’s the perfect timing and there’s a lot we can do, just even being ambassadors personally.”

Countywide, residents 65 and older had an annual household income of $54,320, which is $13,451 less than the average median income for all residents, according to a 2015 Art of Aging survey. Nearly 63 percent of survey respondents have spent more than 15 years living in the county, where housing costs have been on a steady uptick for years.

Those residents felt fear and anxiety about aging while also struggling with roadblocks to accessing care and recreational activities, partly because of limited transportation.

Dave Alden, a Petaluma-based civil engineer who’s a member of the Age Friendly Sonoma County Task Force, said housing and transportation were two of his biggest causes for concern.

While hundreds of for-sale housing and rental apartments are under construction or being proposed in Petaluma, he said there’s an opportunity to develop more housing to serve seniors that are seeking to downsize but are not ready to move to an assisted living facility.

“The transportation side is huge - people live beyond their ability to drive,” he said. “How do we keep them integrated into the community and keep them healthy? If you sit at home, the end comes sooner than it needs to. The other side of it is housing - I know there’s a lot of push for keeping people in their homes, but I’m not always convinced that’s the best solution … we need something that’s a transition.”

Survey respondents also cited concerns about safety - including nonfunctional streetlights or inadequate sidewalks, as well as a lack of opportunities to gather or to hear about upcoming social events. Tolliver presented a number of solutions for consideration, including examining housing policies and increasing access to programs for low cost home repairs, expanding affordable and inclusive activities while bolstering access to transportation.

Seniors were also concerned about lack of access to paid employment opportunities, an area where Petaluma People Services Center’s Executive Director Elece Hempel said the city needs work. That could come in the form of educating employers and providing training for older employees, she said.

“After you’ve retired, to live in Sonoma County you’re probably going to need some kind of additional employment,” she said. “It’s just so expensive to live here and we have to figure out how to get employers to hire someone who’s 60 or older.”

Her organization will explore ways to expand its portfolio of services.

“What we’re seeing here in Petaluma is that we’re one of the most expensive places to live and we have the fastest growing population of people 60 and older,” she said. “People are living in their homes in Petaluma because they can’t afford to live anywhere else - they’re aging in place, but honestly, they’re stuck in place … We have to work collectively in order to make things happen.”

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)

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