Item 4: Austin Public Health Slide Deck — original pdf

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Update: Closing out the 2021-2025 Age Friendly Action Plan Austin Public Health | May 13th, 2026 History & Evolution of the Action Plan The journey toward an Age-Friendly designation began in 2012 with the Mayor’s Task Force on Aging: ▪ 2013: Recommendation for AARP Age-Friendly Community designation and the formation of the Commission on Seniors (now Commission on Aging). ▪ 2016: Austin City Council adopted the Age-Friendly Action Plan as an addendum to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. ▪ 2019: The first-ever Age-Friendly Program Coordinator was hired. ▪ 2022–2023: Following a 2022 City Audit that found the program "effective" but in need of resources, a second staff position was added to focus on community engagement. 2 Key Partnerships & Notable Achievements Key Partnerships Our work is powered by a coalition of partners, including Meals on Wheels of Central Texas, AGE of Central Texas, CapMetro, and the Area Agency on Aging. Notable Achievements (2021–2025) ▪ Completion of the first Older Adults Quality of Life (QoL) Study (2025), engaging 1,076 residents to set measurable progress scores. ▪ Improving park access to 70.1% and increasing ADA-accessible park programs from 36% to 97.5%. ▪ The 2023 Walkability Audits near grocery stores and the 2025 launch of "Spark in the Park". ▪ Launch of the Austin Senior Services Hub (November 2023) and the 2025 Age Friendly Resolution adopted by City Council. 3 Progress by Domain Domain 1: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings ▪ Expanded Access: Parkland access grew to 70.1% by 2025. Additionally, 71.7% of the community now lives within 1.7 miles of active recreational programming. ▪ Inclusive Design: ADA-accessible programming surged from 36% to 97.5% since 2022. They are just shy of their 100% goal, which ensures every program is offered at an accessible location both north and south of the Colorado River. ▪ Active Engagement: Senior enrollments grew by 49% over five years at APR, reaching a record 2,854 distinct participants. ▪ Cultural Hubs: AARC visits reached 45,188, with a 1,023% increase in senior meals. Austin Public Library facilitated over 18,000 programs for all ages. 5 Domain 2: Transportation ▪ Satisfaction: Seniors rated transportation at 7/10 in the 2025 QoL Study. ▪ The Transit Empowerment Fund through their Senior Mobility Summits coordinated efforts to increase communication and collaboration between providers of senior transportation and services. Participants included organizations such as CAPCOG, Movability, Alzheimer’s Association, Chariot, Drive a Senior, Austin Public Health, Austin Parks and Recreation, Foundation Communities, Elder wheels, CARTS, AGE of Central Texas, SAIVA, CAMPO’s RTCC (Regional Transportation Coordination Committee), CapMetro, and Capital City Village. ▪ CapMetro Affordability: Seniors (65+) access transit at half-price. Specific routes (490-493) connect senior housing to vital hubs like grocery stores. ▪ Austin Transportation and Public Works: ▪ Corridor Improvements: A Mobility Study took place in 2025 for the IH-35 corridor, including a comprehensive gap analysis of sidewalks and crosswalks. ▪ Funded Projects: $2.3 million in city funds has been approved for the East Avenue Trail. Current planning is addressing age-friendly requirements, such as ensuring sufficient shade structures for older adults. ▪ Urban Design: The Congress Ave Urban Design Initiative (starting in 2025) aims to widen sidewalks and prioritize ADA parking from Cesar Chavez to 7th Street. ▪ Opportunity: Safety remains a concern; only 58% of seniors report feeling safe using current transportation modes. 6 Domain 3: Housing ▪ Affordability: Reopened the Rebekah (RBJ Tower) in 2025, providing 224 affordable units with on-site clinics and food pantries. ▪ Home Repair: Repaired 361 homes in FY24-25, with 253 being senior households. ▪ Austin Public Health’s Neighborhood Services Unit provides a vital support system for seniors to age in place through its seven neighborhood centers. Between 2021 and 2025, the NSU distributed a grand total of $1,197,739.25 in critical financial aid to households headed by individuals aged 50 and older. This investment funded 703 individual assistances, consisting of 533 rental payments and 170 utility payments. ▪ 81,372 households enrolled in Energy Assistance (CAP). 100+ events held by TCAD for tax exemptions (Ages 65+). ▪ Crisis: The average age of death for the unhoused in Travis County is 50, which is 20 years younger than the housed population. 7 Domain 4: Social Participation ▪ Engagement: Participation in Parks and Recreation (PARD) programs grew from 4,613 in 2021 to 23,066 in 2025. ▪ Advocacy & Awareness: Austin’s first Implicit Bias Awareness Day (Aug 2025) and designated Oct 7 as Ageism Awareness Day to combat stereotypes and foster inclusion. ▪ Inclusion: The Rainbow Connections ATX served 191 unique LGBTQIA2+ elders, providing safe social spaces and Medicare navigation. ▪ Lifetime Connections Without Walls (LCWW) virtual programming served as a critical social and educational lifeline, hosting 3,071 activities for 885 unique older adults and fostering 49 community partnerships. ▪ Barrier: In 2025 Lifetime Connections Without Walls came to an end due to a loss of funding. "The administrator and instructors’ personal attention to my interests is the only opportunity I have left to feel cared for and listened to. Having this support so late in life has made a huge improvement in my quality of life." -LCWW participant 8 Domain 5: Respect & Social Inclusion ▪ Austin Parks and Recreation in partnership with Austin Communications & Engagement developed a specialized training program for staff that covers the importance of language access and City process for translation and interpretation. Since 2023, 367 APR employees, including staff working directly with seniors, have completed this training. ▪ The annual AAPI Community Health Fair offers a comprehensive, multi-generational approach to wellness. A collaboration between APH, AARC, and AACHI, the event provides vital services in 20+ languages, with targeted outreach to Burmese, Nepali, Pashto, Dari, and Arabic-speaking residents. This initiative removes barriers for older adults of all socio-economic and immigration backgrounds, fostering a more inclusive and age-friendly environment through direct community engagement and language justice. ▪ Annually, the Commission on Aging presents their Community Service Awards. The awards recognize members of the community both professional and volunteer who demonstrate resilience and dedication to enhancing the lives of seniors in the Austin area. 9 Domain 6: Civic Engagement and Employment ▪ Employment: Annual 50+ Community Job Fairs provide on-the-spot interviews with City departments. ▪ In 2025, the Commission on Aging in partnership with the City of Austin’s Joint Inclusion Committee and Office of Equity and Inclusion participated in multiple sessions “Know Your Commission” where community members could learn about the different City of Austin commissions and how to become a commissioner on a City of Austin Boards and Commission. These sessions offered the option of language access services and were promoted in Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Chinese, and French. ▪ In March 2025, AFA staff, in partnership with AARP’s Senior Community Services Employment Program (SCSEP) and Workforce Solutions, hosted an event at the South Austin Senior Activity Center (SASAC) that included technology training services by Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), resume building, interview tips, and information about the SCSEP training program. The event was attended by approximately 75 older adults. 10 Domain 7: Communication & Information ▪ The Hub: The Austin Senior Services Hub launched in 2023, receiving over 20,000 views from September 2024-December 2025. Information from the Hub is now part of the Austin 311 FAQ, ensuring ambassadors can quickly direct seniors to resources. ▪ Digital Literacy: Austin Free-Net at AARC scaled from 137 to 1,271 annual participants (FY22–FY25). APL hosted 500 tech sessions for 3,640 seniors. ▪ Language Access: PARD recorded 37,470 interactions in languages other than English (Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, etc.) by mid-2025. ▪ In 2025, Age Friendly Austin Staff in collaboration with community partners, Commission on Aging, and City staff who serve older adults developed the Centralized Guidance for Communicating and Engaging with Older Adults for City Staff. In partnership with APH Communications staff, AFA staff created a two-page flyer based on the guidance to help quickly guide staff enhance communication effectiveness and respectfulness towards seniors across City department materials. 11 Domain 8: Community & Health Services ▪ Nutrition: Meals on Wheels delivers 700,000 meals annually, resulting in a 70% improvement in malnutrition status for enrolled seniors. ▪ Healthcare Outreach: APH Immunizations served 5,117 older adults over the cycle. ▪ Data-Driven Care: APH shifted from standard flu doses to High Dose (.7mL) vaccines for those 65+ after identifying efficacy gaps in historical data. ▪ The Area Agency on Aging of the Capital Area hosts an annual Caregiver Conference that brings family caregivers together for socialization and learning opportunities. ▪ ATCEMS hosts monthly Pop-Up Resource Clinics (PURC) led by Community Health Paramedics. These mobile clinics bring essential medical, social, and mental health services directly to underserved populations and those experiencing homelessness. Additionally, EMS participates in the annual Ascension Medical Mission at Home event to provide free healthcare resources. 12 Evolving Our Strategy: From 8 Domains to 3 Strategic Focus Areas Our Foundation: The 8 Domains of Livability The Framework: AARP’s standard for creating livable communities for all ages. The Original Scope: 1. Outdoor Spaces & Buildings 2. Transportation 3. Housing 4. Social Participation 5. Respect & Social Inclusion 6. Civic Engagement & Employment 7. Communication & Information 8. Community & Health Services Why Change? Communities often choose to combine domains to focus on local priorities and increase impact. Evidence-Based Shift: Driven by assessments such as the Older Adults Quality of Life (QoL) Study and the 2025 Community Health Assessment (CHA). Goal: To move from broad categories to targeted outcomes that address urgent local needs like housing insecurity, social isolation, and health equity. 14 Focus Area 1: Social Engagement, Connection, & Inclusion Primary Goals: • Improve access to technology and community information. • Reduce social isolation through inclusive, diverse community engagement. • Integrate older adults into City planning and governance Proposed Actions: • Develop and/or strengthen small scale tech lending libraries and expand hot spot check out program for tablets/laptops • Expand digital literacy programming including programming offered in Spanish • Print materials using large fonts, clear language, and ensure access to multilingual materials. • Ensure engagement opportunities and caregiver supports are promoted in multiple languages including Spanish, simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and ASL • Improve efforts to reach homebound seniors to include them in social opportunities • Partner with community organizations to standardize and disseminate LGBTQIA+ and aging competency trainings • Support displays of inclusion (ex. pride flags, pronoun recognition) as demonstrations of safety • Formalize a Community Ambassador program to gather regular feedback on City planning. • Conduct regular community forums and events for older adults, specifically older adults who have been historically marginalized. 15 Focus Area 2: Health, Mobility, and Accessibility Primary Goals: • Increase awareness and access to health, mobility, and accessibility resources. • Enhance the independence of older adults and their caregivers by investing in a safer, more accessible, and well-funded transportation network. • Prioritize support options for caregivers of older adults • Advance awareness of emergency preparedness strategies and available supports systems for seniors Proposed Actions: • Support and increase capacity of the Senior Home Safety Program • Develop partnerships to recruit and train volunteers to conduct initial basic home assessments • Implement senior specific pop-up resource clinics • Advocate for increased funding for congregate meal programs at trusted locations of seniors such as senior activity centers, recreation centers, and community centers. • Expand home-delivered meal options and grocery delivery programs for home-bound seniors, and seniors living with disabilities. • Distribute multilingual resources on nutritious meal choices through trusted City partners, City spaces most visited by seniors, and Austin Public Health sites and community health workers. • Design and distribute a survey through community partners to identify the causes of low transportation satisfaction among caregivers, and advocate for necessary service adjustments based on the findings. • Advocate for increased funding for social service contracts between the City of Austin (COA) and non-profits that provide transportation as part of their suite of services for older adults. • Promote continued efforts to bring local partners together around the transportation needs of older adults and encourage collaborative partnerships. • Implement concrete measures such as more crosswalks, traffic-slowing tools, and additional transit stops. 16 Focus Area 3: Housing & Economic Security Primary Goals: • Increase housing security and access to home modification and repair programs to support seniors aging in place. • Increase access to economic and age-friendly employment opportunities. • Enhance utility affordability and assistance programs for older adults. Proposed Actions: • Develop multi-lingual outreach campaigns to bridge the gap between service awareness and access. • Prioritize housing interventions that specifically address the top home repair and modification needs identified by seniors. • Gap analysis (looking at where the services are provided, see where the separation is) • Prioritize outreach to seniors with disabilities on available home modification assistance programs • Promotion of programs to seniors, caregivers, and city council districts identified with the highest need. • Provide tools and develop materials to assist business in becoming age friendly • Promote training and coaching programs, job fairs, and skill building opportunities for seniors. • Increase access to technology training and devices to improve technology proficiency. • Link Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and Workforce Solutions with community partners to promote employment services. • Disseminate anti-ageism education and promote age-friendly employer policies. • Expand outreach for the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) with materials in multiple languages. 17 The Commission’s Role Build: Integrate Senior Voices: The Commission could serve as a partner in formalizing the Community Ambassador program to ensure older adults have a seat in shaping City growth. Continue participating in things such as "Know Your Commission" sessions to educate the community on how to become a commissioner, ensuring diverse representation. 18 The Commission’s Role Bridge: Reach Historically Marginalized Groups: Commission could support as we provide regular community forums specifically for older adults who have been historically underrepresented. Facilitate Interagency Collaboration: Participate in monthly Work Groups to move forward tasks outlined in the AFA plan by collaborating with agencies like Meals on Wheels, CapMetro, and AGE of Central Texas. 19 The Commission’s Role Champion: Advocate: The Commission can advocate for increased capacity for items such as congregate meal programs at senior activity centers and recreation centers. Promote Policy Changes: Continue your historical role of recommending programs and policies to the City Council and City Manager that directly impact older adult quality of life. Drive Strategic Shifts: Support the transition from eight broad domains to the three new strategic focus areas (Social Engagement, Health/Mobility, and Housing/Economic Security) to address urgent local needs like housing insecurity and social isolation. 20