Insights

On August 11, 2023, Stinger Park was buzzing with more than just late-summer heat. It was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new park, and it was buzzing with people, too. With excitement, people of all ages explored the new facility, which has baseball and softball fields, multipurpose fields, tennis courts, pickle ball courts, a cornhole area, shaded picnic spaces, scenic nature trails, jungle gyms, a splashpad, and so much more. After years of planning, McGill Associates, PA helped bring the City of Bessemer City’s vision to life by providing electrical, planning, design, funding assistance and construction support for the project.

After lots of planning (plus a three-year delay thanks to the pandemic), Centralina eagerly hosted its first Women in Government event on Thursday, March 28th. U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams, Ph.D delivered opening remarks to elected officials and city staff about her career in government, encouraging attendees to keep proving that women’s insight is needed and that women in government positively impact the bottom line.

In 2020, Centralina helped the City of Albemarle administer a community survey to gather public feedback on the current state of the community and a vision for the future to help them development the FY23-26 strategic plan. With year two of Albemarle’s strategic plan implementation process under way, city officials were interested in gaining further input from the community to help measure the progress of strategic plan implementation. In need of guidance, city officials again reach out to Centralina to assist with administering a 2023 community survey.

For older adults living in a home by themselves, limited ability to engage in activities they enjoy or socialize in their community can put them at higher risk for being affected by social isolation. Social isolation among aging adults is a pressing issue with significant implications for one’s well-being, including putting a person at higher risk for developing heart disease, dementia or other life-altering conditions. Centralina Area Agency on Aging is actively working to reduce social isolation and loneliness in regional communities through educating residents and stakeholders about the public health concern, what it entails and what people can do to address it in their own community.

On March 21st and 22nd of 2024, Centralina Regional Council administered an assessment center for the Town of Matthews Fire Department for their recruitment process for three open Battalion Chief positions. The assessment center encompassed multiple exercises assessed by individual assessors to gauge candidates’ capabilities in a standardized manner, focusing on behaviors rather than just knowledge.

Child care is one of the biggest expenses families face, spending nearly $11,467 on infant care yearly in North Carolina. Not only do families with young children encounter higher costs, but they also face them when they are in their earliest income-earning years. These obstacles create limitations on our workforce and in turn, negatively impact the economy. Recognizing this challenge confronting many families in our region, the Centralina EDD decided to host a moderated discussion to develop actionable solutions.

Did you know that more than 12% of adults in the United States have a mobility disability including serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? And, closer to home, based on the 2022 state aging profile, 21% of North Carolinians who are 65 and over live with a disability that affects their ability to ambulate. In response, Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) used ARPA funding to develop the Housing & Home Improvement program, which provides a variety of home modifications to older adults, including wheelchair-accessible ramps.

In mid-February, Executive Director Geraldine Gardner traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the annual National Conference of Regions hosted by the National Association of Regional Councils. While in DC, she participated in numerous advocacy meetings, with the assistance of Centralina’s federal government relations expert Leslie Mozingo, to discuss Centralina’s federal priorities as listed on the approved Federal Action Plan.

For most people, falls aren’t something they think about preventing until they themselves or someone they know experiences a fall. For some older adults, making necessary modifications to increase accessibility in the home are great ways to prevent falls and promote mobility, but are often financially inaccessible. Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) recently participated as a pilot provider for the NC Fall Prevention Program, which helped to provide applicable participants in the greater Charlotte area with low-level fall prevention home modifications and education. 

In October of 2023, UNC Charlotte was awarded a Strategy Development Grant from the EDA. The funding, provided as part of a federal inaugural tech hubs initiative, will be put towards launching the Carolinas Innovation Center for Optics and Metrology Consortium. As part of the EDA Tech Hub launch, UNC Charlotte recently hosted Centralina EDD’s Board Members on campus for a discussion on the importance of optics and metrology and a tour of the metrology lab.