Spaces are available for a workshop next month where participants will discuss what needs to be done to ensure senior citizens will be able to live independently for as long as possible.
The workshop, hosted by Clark County’s 25-member Aging Readiness Task Force, will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 17, at E.B. Hamilton Hall, 605 Barnes St. in Vancouver Barracks.
The task force, which convened for the first time last spring, has been studying key issues such as housing, transportation and health care.
The task force will make recommendations to county commissioners this year on how the county should prepare for the aging boom.
The county’s population of residents age 60 and older will nearly double by 2025, national trends indicate. One in four residents would be age 60 or older.
When the group met last May, they heard from David Kelly, executive director of the Southwest Washington Agency on Aging and Disabilities.
Kelly said that people 85 and older, currently 1.4 percent of the county population, will account for 2 percent by 2025.
“The vast majority wish to age in their own home, and in their own community,” he said during the May meeting.
Kelly said one national survey showed that one-half of all communities haven’t started to address looming issues presented by an aging population.
The March meeting will focus on support services, such as living assistance.
To attend the free workshop, register online at http://www.clark.wa.gov/aging or call 360-397-2280, ext. 4958.
