Issue awareness identified as key to bringing change to Miami-Dade’s older adults
A new voter poll conducted by our United Way and the Older Adult Advocacy Taskforce found that educating leaders is even more critical than advocacy as we head into the 2018 election season and prepare for the 2019 Legislative Session.
These findings come on the heels of a report from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs that found that the average age of all Miami-Dade residents is getting older. By 2020, people 60+ will exceed the number of children by nearly 40%. As this trend continues, we will all feel its impact.
Leveraging this critical insight, we’ve joined forces with our partners on a six-month campaign to educate and raise consciousness among leaders vying for key elected offices about aging and older adult issues in Miami-Dade – an essential step in shaping and influencing community policies, investments, and services and supports for the wellbeing of future generations.
In advance of the August 28 primaries, teams of volunteers met with more than half of the 60-plus candidates running for Florida’s Senate and House as well as for Miami-Dade’s Board of County Commissioners, sharing with them information about older adult issues and asking what they will do, if elected, to address needs, challenges, and opportunities. The outreach will continue with the remaining candidates through the November 6 general election.
This consciousness-raising effort is part of our overall work in older adults to bring strategic and thoughtful leadership, planning and solution-building to our aging community.