Investigating: When The Longevity Revolution Hits Your Town

Dear Spot.Us Contributors

I am incredibly excited to announce that Spot.Us is publishing “When the Longevity Revolution Hits Your Town” – a three part series.

“When The Longevity Revolution Hits Your Town – a Three Part Series”

View the story here: http://spot.us/stories/47

This story represents three months worth of reporting spanning five diverse Northern California cities – San Francisco, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Vallejo.

None of this, however, would have been possible if it weren’t for your early support. I am honored that together as a community we took action. In a time like this – that is what we need, people with a mind towards civic-action. I hope you recognize just what a big gesture it is that you made.

This work, produced by Cecily O’Connor has already been published at RedwoodAge.com and I believe it will be (re)Published elsewhere – since we are giving the content away under a creative commons license. I am now going to reach out to publications to let them know about this possibility, so that the work we’ve done can be seen and read by as many people as possible (update while writing this – the San Francisco Sentinel has republished the work as well).

In the meantime: If you liked this reporting you should pass it along via email: http://spot.us/stories/47

If you want to continue taking action to ensure that strong local journalism continues – browse through some of the stories on Spot.Us that still need funding.

One of our most recent pitches is somewhat related to this topic. Titled “What Housing Downturn” – it will be a look at the factors that keep some Bay Area real estate prices afloat even during an economic downturn. http://spot.us/pitches/78

Every small donation from $5-$25 makes a difference.

Sincerely,
—
David Cohn
http://Spot.Us
http://www.digidave.org/who.html
(310) 365-3600

We reached our goal of $1,000 and Cecily is already off and reporting on the Longevity Revolution in the Bay Area.

Soon we will have a three part series on what cities in the Bay Area can do to plan ahead for the increase in retirees as the baby boomers reach into their golden years.

This was made possible by you and the contributors on Spot.us (which is now live and would love your support by officially joining).

http://spot.us

Cecily has reporting to do – and we will be in touch letting you know how things develop.

For now, give yourself a pat on the back for helping to make a real difference in the world

Best
David

‘Investigating: When The Longevity Revolution Hits Your Town’ has reached the tipping point!

We raised a total of $1,000!

I can’t afford to contribute monetarily, so I’ll share the approach that Alaskan communities take when addressing the elderly and aging. First, the issue is addressed at the state level, and funds are appropriated by the Legislature for the ‘pioneers’ who were young and vital members of Alaskan communities when Alaska made statehood in 1959. Those funds maintain the Alaska Longevity Fund (for residents 65 yrs and older) and the assisted living facilities known as Pioneer Homes in every region of Alaska. Residents qualify by age, income level and services required to maintain quality of life. Additional funds are raised by the directors of each facility through outreach and grants, and are used to secure a variety of services including transportation, meals-on-wheels, mobility assistance and senior facilities. Once an elder qualifies for services, their needs are monitored and their cases managed by outreach workers employed by senior centers located in the towns and villages where seniors live. The goal is to help seniors maintain independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. When that is no longer possible, they are placed in the pioneer home in their region or of their choice. Pioneers are given preference, while elders who do not qualify as pioneers receive grants and subsidies from a variety of state and federal sources.

A similar program has been designed to facilitate mental health treatment and community transition, so that patients don’t have to leave the state, their families and their communities while managing their illnesses.

I’m pretty sure the system was designed to keep the population stable as people age, and to honor the pioneers and elders who saw Alaska through the inevitable growing pains of a new state that routinely faces harsh environmental challenges and isolation from the rest of the country.

As an aside, aren’t electoral votes for states determined by population? That could have been one of the underlying reasons for the establishment of such a vital program – made pertinent now by the advent of aging baby-boomers.

Good luck with this campaign!

Hello!!
David Cohn here from Spot.Us with an update on our effort to raise $1,000 to report on issues of the elderly.

We are only $330 shy of our goal!!!! If you know people that would be interested in this topic – please pass this along. Every donation brings us one step closer.

You can show them the newly launched Spot.Us pitch

• http://spot.us/pitches/11
  Or the wiki page
• http://wiki.spot.us/longevity
  
  Also note two upcoming events of interest:
• http://www.positiveagingca.org/
• http://snipurl.com/4zd52

Thank you again for your support. We are very passionate about making sure this important reporting is done in an effort to serve you.
Sincerely,
David Cohn
http://spot.us

Hello!!
David Cohn here from Spot.Us with an update on our effort to raise $1,000 to report on issues of the elderly.

We are only $330 shy of our goal!!!! If you know people that would be interested in this topic – please pass this along. Every donation brings us one step closer.

You can show them the newly launched Spot.Us pitch

• http://spot.us/pitches/11
  Or the wiki page
• http://wiki.spot.us/longevity
  
  Also note two upcoming events of interest:
• http://www.positiveagingca.org/
• http://snipurl.com/4zd52

Thank you again for your support. We are very passionate about making sure this important reporting is done in an effort to serve you.
Sincerely,
David Cohn
http://spot.us

If you could help to avoid the next Katrina or the next Foreclosure Crisis, wouldn’t you?

The topic proposed here – The Longevity Crisis in Your Town – will certainly dwarf those issues in the not-distant future. Already, we’re seeing cities struggle with retirement costs and budgets that aren’t growing as fast as demand for services.

How will Richmond, Vallejo and Oakland get by? Will your town be next? Every city will be tested, from the wealthiest suburbs of Marin to the fastest-growing towns of Silicon Valley.

RedwoodAge is proud to contribute to covering this topic. In addition to a cash pledge, RedwoodAge has committed to publish this series of stories on our Web site, bringing the reports to our influential audience. We deeply respect Cecily’s past work on finance and aging issues, and we encourage others to support her reporting on this vital topic. This is a subject that will affect us all and we will all benefit from this project.

Tom Murphy, Editor
RedwoodAge.com