Join a Workgroup
We are the local stewards of the international Age-Friendly designation for cities and municipalities in the Pikes Peak Region. Our Age-Friendly Action Plan includes five focus areas through 2028: Housing, Workforce, Age-Friendly Environment, Health and Wellness, and Social Connection and Communication. Read our action plan to learn more about these focus areas, the specific action items our local communities have prioritized for each area, and join one of our workgroup todays to build lifelong livable communities in the Pikes Peak Region.
Work Forces
Housing
We must ensure that El Paso County housing supports the vision of a place to grow up and grow older. For those who want to age in place in the Pikes Peak Region, are there diverse housing options (i.e., affordable, accessible, visitable) designed for changing needs? Do these housing options allow residents to engage in the community as they desire-accessing services, businesses, outdoor recreation, and arts and culture? Do we have policies and practices that support aging in community, and if not, what do we need?
Age Friendly Environment
Are our communities accessible, supportive of diverse mobility needs, safe, welcoming of all ages, and encouraging of active participation? This could include transportation, mobility, accessibility, park infrastructure, connectivity between neighborhoods and parks or other destinations, connectivity between communities across the Pikes Peak Region, bike safety, and more.
Social Connection and Communication
Are we ensuring that people have opportunities to participate in social and civic activities, create connections across generations, explore new interests and be active in the community whether they are homebound, have limited access to transportation, or have no barriers? This also requires a focus on communication, such as how information is distributed to support inclusivity, integrating a variety of primary languages and cultures, and technology barriers such as broadband access.
Wellness
Does Pikes Peak Region offer health and wellness resources and opportunities for all residents? This could include access to high-quality physical, mental and behavioral health resources, connectivity and support for informal caregivers, resources to support the unique challenges of caregivers for adult children, access to information about the many varied services and programs across the region, community awareness of dementia and more.
Workforce
As we work toward being a more age friendly county, do we have the workforce needed to fulfill our vision? As older people live longer and work longer, we must address engaging and developing an encore workforce and creating and sustaining age friendly businesses. This could include addressing workforce shortages in critical commerce areas, or in healthcare settings such as home care, hospital care, and long-term care. We might address actions related to skills building, education on ageism, building an intergenerational workplace culture, recruitment and retention, and more.