A desire to give back has always driven Rosel Barowsky. Over 25 years, she’s volunteered thousands of hours at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, a specialty resale store whose proceeds support the American Cancer Society.

“OK Boomer” has gained popularity as a sarcastic refrain, but if millennials and all other generations fail to take baby boomers seriously, we will all share in the consequences.

The 2020s will be the decade of the baby boomer. Within the next ten years, all of the nation’s 74 million baby boomers – those born between 1946 to 1964 – will be 65 or older. For the first time in US history, our population of older adults will surpass the number of children age 13 and under.

As we enter this election year, we’re likely to hear many candidates pontificate that the aging of the population is an economic drain on the federal budget and the nation — citing costs of programs like Medicare and Social Security, which, of course, older Americans have supported with tax dollars for many years.

But this narrative ignores the enormous positive impact that people 50 and older have on the economy and on the social ties that bind us together.

Dementia cafes are emerging as a way to help provide better care and services for people with dementia, according to a Japanese study appearing in JAMDA.

She doesn’t sport a cape or power suit, but San Diegan Callie Ahern does have a caboodle of tools that have transformed the lives of more than a hundred low-income seniors. Ahern is the founder of The Glama Project, a year-old charity that gives makeovers to the elderly with the hopes it will boost their self-confidence and bring them joy.

Advocates warn that people who need nursing care may increasingly be sent far away from San Francisco in a developing shortage of affordable nursing home beds linked in part to the cost of doing business and the cost of living in the Bay Area.

The World Health Organization says ageism is the most socially acceptable prejudice in the world and deems it such a serious public health threat that it commissioned studies on five aspects of it. One of these studies set out to determine whether intervention programs can actually change people’s attitudes and reduce ageism.

You should spend more time with your grandparents, as I’m sure your mother has told you. If you haven’t seen it yet, you might soon. The slow encroachment of age. Not to be morbid, but these mortal coils have shelf lives. Translation for the millennial set: Aging is like rising sea levels, except the tides are creeping up on your grandma, not a polar bear that can’t play scrabble with you.

In the neighborhoods around San Jose, more than 1 in 9 seniors struggle to get enough to eat. They are among the millions of seniors across the country who quietly go hungry as the safety net designed to catch them frays. Nearly 8% of Americans 60 and older were “food insecure” in 2017, according to a recent study released by the anti-hunger group Feeding America.

An upbeat view of life may increase your odds for living to a ripe old age, new research suggests. The finding stems from a look at optimism and longevity among nearly 70,000 women and 1,400 men. It builds on earlier research linking higher levels of optimism to lower risks of chronic illness and premature death.

Watching Gov. Gavin Newsom focus some of his youthful energy on the issue of aging is both refreshing and clearly required, especially given his observation that California is getting grayer in staggering numbers.

On June 15, three residents of the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s (LAJH) Grancell Village campus in Reseda had their bat mitzvahs. While they may be a little north of 13, Edith Frankie, Mildred Moccio, 82, and Linda Frankes, 78, were surrounded by family, friends, residents, administrators and staff as they “came of age.”

Your elected state representatives write, vote on and shape public policy at the State Capitol, and they depend not only on input from experts, but also from the valuable experiences and concerns of their constituents – You! If you’re ready to help Californians Age On. Rage On., here are 3 easy ways to raise awareness about our campaign by engaging your elected representatives.

When 84-year-old Carrie Reese says she is a weight lifter, the listeners are dubious.

She shows her small wrists and smiles, saying, “They think I am lying.”

But on June 1, Paradise Valley Estates resident Reese lifted 212.4 pounds in dead lift, which was a new world record for her weight class of 148 pounds and her age class of 80 to 84 years old.

Several recent studies are shedding light on the state of retirement for those who are nearing their post-working years. Today in America, everyday an average of 10,000 individuals are turning 65. And by 2030, the 50-and-over cohort is projected to expand by 20%, reaching 132 million individuals.

LGBTQ people are twice as likely to be single and four times less likely to have children, so becoming “gay and grey” can be a difficult and isolating process for most. That’s why SAGE, a senior center designed for LGBTQ+ elders, was created in 1978, said Steven Wilkinson, the director of SAGE Centers.

At 103, Julia Hawkins might have fallen short of the record-setting 100-meter dash she completed two years ago, but she is still living up to her nickname the “Hurricane.”

The city is trying to show a little love to the northern stretch of 16th Street in midtown. And the latest attempt is the kind of project you won’t see anywhere else in the Central Valley.

At the Modesto Bee’s “California Priorities: Focus on Health Care” event, LeadingAge CA President and CEO Jeannee Parker Martin highlighted the critical role the Master Plan for Aging will have in providing older adults with vital resources to age with dignity.

Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-14-19 on June 10 directing his Secretary of Health and Human Services Agency convene a Cabinet-level Workgroup for Aging to advise on the development of a Master Plan on Aging.

Bracing for the coming wave of seniors amid a dearth of helpers

Too many of state’s older adults already live below the poverty line.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s move to include $3 million in annual funding for Alzheimer’s research is only the beginning of what must be a much larger effort to keep pace with our older population’s future needs.

California is expecting a demographic change, and it may not be the one you’d expect.

Staggering home prices coupled with the rising cost of living are pushing low- and middle-income families out of the region. The Bay Area leads the nation in outward migration, according to a recent study.

Nancy relies on a guide dog to help her independently navigate the world. Although her Medicare Advantage health plan includes a transportation benefit, Nancy has struggled to use her health plan’s transportation benefit with her guide dog.

About 40 million people in the U.S. are family caregivers, providing assistance with everyday tasks for relatives. One quarter of them are millennials.

Our current system continues to portray people ages 62-65 as old and less capable. It’s the foundation for ageism and one of the key reasons that it is harder to find work after age 50.

A Report From the California Task Force on Family Caregiving.

The symptoms can sometimes be tricky to spot. Here’s what you need to know.

Many older Americans are not receiving at home the long-term services and supports that they desperately need, and this failure is fueling more premature admissions into nursing homes.

A bold set of recommendations to eliminate the projected shortfall of health providers the state is expected to face in the field of primary care by 2030.

Malnutrition in older adults is becoming a crisis in America – not just California

When my dad died unexpectedly, my mom’s world turned upside down. She lost her medical insurance and his pension and found herself living on the lowest level of Social Security, becoming “poor” overnight. This is all too common today for the elderly living in California and unable to make ends meet. My mom was lucky because she had me to help her, but many seniors don’t.

Home-share programs match two generations facing loneliness and high housing costs.

Two studies, one issued by the Commonwealth Fund and one by the congressional Joint Economic Committee, show the difficulty long-term services and supports costs pose for older people and their families now and how these costs likely will increase for the future as informal, unpaid family caregiving becomes less available.

Two-thirds of Medicare recipients may not benefit from the federal government’s recent policy change allowing Medicare Advantage plans to cover long-term services and supports, according to a new analysis of Medicare data by the Commonwealth Fund.

When Kaye Crawford spoke at the wake of friend Darrin Heiden in 2014, she talked about the fact that Heiden was “another statistic of a gay man who found himself without a home as he grew older.”

Two-thirds of older adults living in the community use some degree of LTSS. Reliance on assistive devices and environmental modifications is high; however many adults, particularly dual-eligible beneficiaries, experience adverse consequences of not receiving care.

Isolation is an issue for many seniors, especially in rural places. It can lead to loneliness, which many experts consider a serious public health issue. That’s where Kitty Gee comes in.

“Everywhere we go anywhere in the state, when we talk to health care providers and aging service providers, the number one concern that’s keeping them up at night is staffing. 100 percent.”

The young aren’t sure what’s right and what’s rumor about the old and the aging process, according to a survey.

Bev Nance, 68, and Mary Walsh, 72, were denied an apartment in Missouri’s Friendship Village because their marriage is not “understood in the Bible.”

At 62, Susan uses Botox and filler to hide the signs of aging and takes her birthday off from work each year to avoid being asked the question of how old she is. Susan is an executive in the fashion industry. Looks matter. Age matters. That’s the double whammy: ageism and sexism.

UC San Diego Health has opened a new senior emergency department, complete with a team trained in geriatric medicine and senior-friendly architectural design.

Santa unpacked a bag full of smart technology at The Cardinal at North Hills’ recent holiday party. K4Connect CEO Scott Moody, dressed as the legendary figure, passed out Echo Dot devices Dec. 19 to residents of the Raleigh, NC, Kisco Senior Living life plan community as part of its expanded partnership with the operator.

A significant number of hard-working Americans have no problem with the decision and look forward to the long-awaited gift of freedom with no commute or workplace hassles. But that’s not the case for all.

Medicaid, the provider of health insurance coverage for about one in five Americans and the largest payer for long-term care services in the community and nursing homes, continues to be a key part of health policy debates at the federal and state level.

JoAnna and Ken Allen wanted to relocate from suburban Baltimore to the East Bay to be closer to their children and grandchildren, but JoAnna was reluctant to give up the friends and activities she had established after 45 years in Maryland.

Pull the headset over your eyes and the world around you fades. You have become 66-year-old Clay Crowder, and you are dying.

It was early in their courtship seven years ago when Manuel Villanueva warned his now-husband, “I come as a package of three.” The other parts of that deal: his father, and his mother.

Loneliness undermines health and is linked to early mortality—and baby boomers are especially feeling the effects

Earthquakes, floods, mega-fires, a recession and other unforeseen events can disrupt the best-laid plans of any California governor. Potential disasters aside, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom should hit the ground running.

With our governor chosen, one issue that has not received nearly enough attention during the campaign is our state’s aging population and its associated challenges.