On Sunday, January 3, 2021 we lost Joe Carpenter, a former public servant of Gaston County and former Board Chair of Centralina. Centralina staff and the officers of our Board would like to share our collective appreciation for his lifetime of service and many contributions to Centralina and our region.
A letter from the Executive Director reflects on 2020 and lists what’s in store for 2021: This time last year many were anticipating that 2020 would be a year to plan for a new decade and gain â20/20â vision or clarity on future priorities. Instead, we quickly found ourselves confronting the present, a global pandemic with severe local consequences that brought daily challenges and unprecedented levels of uncertainty.
The Centers for Disease Control stated that older adults are among those that should not travel at all over the holidays due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure. This also includes having family members travel to the older adult as well.
What can we learn from the pandemic to make our communities stronger and better connected?
Through interactive discussions, polling and presentations, we heard from over thirty elected officials and executives about their top concerns related to the pandemic. Our team listened for opportunities to adjust our services and programming to better support COVID-19 response, recovery and relief.
At its October meeting, the Regional Managers Group had a virtual, focused conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in local governments.
Area Agencies on Aging were established through the Older Americans Act to facilitate and support programs that address the needs of older adults. Community planning is one of several mandated functions that these agencies are required to perform. Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) utilizes a variety of planning tools to meet these needs.
Did you know that North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation for the number of people 65 and older? By 2025, one in five NC residents will be 65+. In addition, the CDC estimates that one out of every four Americans has a disability, defined as a significant limitation to one or more major life activities.
The health and economic crises, triggered by COVID-19, has had profound short-term impacts, some of which have been felt universally and others unequally. As we continue to respond to the public health crisis, it is critical to set ourselves on path for recovery that also addresses long standing racial and economic inequalities across our region.
The deadline to respond to Census 2020 is now earlier than initially planned and set for September 30, 2020.