Our area is home to a growing population of aging adults, who face special challenges in their later years, as they seek to maintain a high quality of life on limited incomes. These grants focus on direct support for aging adults or support for caregivers of aging adults.
Longer lives are one of our most remarkable collective achievements, but they also open new questions about how to live well in our later years. According to the 2020 US Census, Florida has the highest concentration of older residents in the nation at 20.1%. In Northeast Florida alone, the number of residents 65+ is expected to double in the coming years, and aging adults are living an average of 12 years longer than previous generations.
The Senior Roundtable brings together nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies that serve older adults, helping them learn about the services available through each other’s work, and best practices in the evolving field of elder care.
To better respond to the needs of this growing aging population, The Community Foundation is investing to strengthen the sector of senior-serving organizations with an emphasis on all aspects of quality of life.
In 2022, we provided a grant to Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center to support the use of the Cognivue Thrive Test in conjunction with auditory screenings for 1,000 seniors. This test can help gauge the connection between auditory and cognitive decline in the hopes of providing an early diagnosis for seniors facing dementia.
In 2008, we helped launch The Senior Roundtable, where senior-serving organizations come together on a regular basis to strengthen collaboration, identify service opportunities and build strategic partnerships. We continue to support this important convening where the emphasis is on working together to support our community’s seniors.
Established in 2007 and endowed by J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver, the Senior to Senior Fund continues to assist senior citizens in Duval, Nassau, Baker, Clay and St. Johns Counties facing short-term financial crisis. The fund is administered by ElderSource, the Area Agency on Aging for Northeast Florida. (For help, call the Elder Helpline at 1-888-242-4464).
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