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SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Last week Assemblymember Eloise Reyes launched her inaugural Senior Advocacy Week from August 14 to 18. During Senior Advocacy Week Assemblymember Reyes visited 15 senior facilities and met directly with hundreds of seniors to hear about their challenges and to identify ways on how to improve the quality of life for seniors in the Inland Empire.
“With over 200,000 Seniors in San Bernardino County, their specific issues and concerns can’t be ignored,” said Assemblymember Reyes “We will take a proactive approach to address the serious issues that are impacting their daily lives. In the 8 months since I have been in office seniors have shared with me the inequitable policies that diminish their quality of life, including lack of income, public transportation, unnecessary fees, lack of community spaces and affordable housing.”
The next decade is expected to see a boom in the over 65 population in California. According to the Public Policy Institute of California the senior population in California will grow by four million people. By 2030 over 1 million seniors are expected to need some assistance with self-care and another 100,000 will require nursing home care which will have a direct impact on state funding for senior care. This has far reaching implications as the state will need more facilities and trained workers to assist the senior population as well as policies that allow seniors to stay longer in their own homes. California will need a spectrum of policy responses to protect and advance the needs of aging populations.
