John Arnold

In my encore, I am the Program Coordinator for AGEnts for Change program in Santa Clara County, California – part of the Health Trust Healthy Aging Initiative working to ensure that older adults spend more years in good health and engaged as vital members of our community.

The AGEnts for Change volunteers are engaged in advocacy and social action. Anyone who has a passion or interest in making Santa Clara County a livable county -€“ all ages, stages, languages and backgrounds -€“ are welcomed and encouraged to join.

After completing work as an Encore Fellow supporting the La Clinica Community Health Organization, I was passionate about wanting to continue making a difference in areas which benefited older adults and those with less socio-economic resources. AGEnts for Change was the best fit for me. It offered me the ability to apply program management, process development and teamsmanship skills I acquired in the private sector working for Levi Strauss & Co, Pepsi and Novartis. I joined part-time after more than a year of volunteering.

Some of the issues AGEnts are working on include:

– Improved pedestrian safety
– Information and assistance – creating “A Good Place to Start”, a brochure with resources for older adults
– Affordable housing – advocacy to expand alternatives of access to housing resources
– Cal Medi Connect – a long-term care pilot funded by the Affordable Care Act to evaluate solutions for more comprehensive care of diverse communities
– Age Friendly Cities – an international effort developed by the World Health Organization to help cities prepare for two global demographic trends: the rapidly aging population and increasing urbanization. Our AGEnts are participating in a steering committee to choose which of eight domains will be prioritized.

When we as seniors improve our environment, the benefit is realized by the full spectrum of ages, 2 through 90. As an older adult, my potential to solve problems isn’t diminished by age or loss of some physical capacity. Seniors aren’t exempt from the challenges that face our society, warming climate, shrinking resources and an ever increasing population. I don’t think that it is someone else’s responsibility to find solutions. If I’m not proactive in applying myself, then I can’t look to others for answers.