For more than 50 years, the Older Americans Act (OAA) has connected older adults and their caregivers to services that help older adults age with health, dignity and independence in their homes and communities—where they want to be! In 2024, Congress must again reauthorize this vital federal program that serves every community in the country. With the rapid growth of America’s aging population, one in five Americans are projected to be 65 or older by 2030. Learn more about how the OAA helps older adults in our region.

In 2015, the CONNECT Our Future regional growth plan identified transportation choice as a key priority for the region and in 2021, CONNECT Beyond, our region’s first mobility plan, was adopted. Transportation continues to remain a top need for older adults and people with disabilities across the region. In response, the Centralina planning and aging departments partnered together on mobility management to address transportation needs for older adults and people with disabilities. This effort included the development of a rideshare study and rideshare resources for older adults and people with disabilities.

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.

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.

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. 

Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) strongly supports opportunities for professional development and continuing education to help each staff member grow in their roles and responsibilities and best serve residents and member communities throughout our region. This fall, AAA staff took part in three different training and certification opportunities to help increase knowledge and capacity in order to fulfill Centralina’s organization-wide mission to advance opportunity and improve quality of life for our region’s residents and communities.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the founding of Centralina Regional Council, formerly known as Centralina Council of Governments. Over the last five and a half decades, our organization has helped support the growth and prosperity of our region through various projects and initiatives. In honor of this historic year, we’re looking back at how our organization has evolved to where it is today.  

In 2022, Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) was awarded grant funding from the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness to pilot the Program to Encourage Rewarding, Active Lives (PEARLS). This unique evidence-based program is implemented to combat depression and social isolation in older adults throughout North Carolina. Centralina AAA staff began accepting participants in designated regional areas in December of 2022. Of those who have enrolled in PEARLS, three participants have completed the program in its entirety. Their success exceeded expectations and helped them become more confident in combatting problems using their own abilities.

All too often, we receive news reports about scams and fraudulent schemes that target older adults, at times with devastating results to an individual’s financial well-being and quality of life. The Cabarrus County Task Force to Prevent Abuse of Older and Disabled Adults is working to change that, and Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) has been an integral part of the Cabarrus task force efforts since its inception in 2010.  This article details recent data on scams involving older adults, a recap of the 2023 Cabarrus County Scam Jam and provides resources you can use to help prevent, identify and report fraud.

PBS North Carolina sat down with staff from Centralina Area Agency on Aging to learn more about PEARLS for its NCimpact episode on mental health and older adults. PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active Rewarding Lives) is a community- and evidence-based pilot program designed to reduce depression in physically impaired and socially isolated people. Listen to Aging Program Coordinators, Amanda Dawson and Kamiya Williams, as they discuss the elements of the program, how they measure progress and how this initiative has impacted participants.