Newsom Announces Initiatives to Support Older Adults During COVID-19
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of initiatives to support vulnerable older adults in California who are isolating at home during the statewide stay-at-home order. The initiatives announced today focus on providing older Californians with nutritious meals, social connection and support, and wellness checks. The initiatives include:
Restaurants Deliver: Home Meals for Seniors
California will be implementing a first-in-the-nation program to ensure vulnerable older adults have consistent access to nutritious meals while staying at home. The program will enlist community restaurants to prepare meals that will be delivered to older Californians who are isolating at home and support local restaurant workers and owners who have lost business during the pandemic. The program is slated to be administered by local jurisdictions and will serve older Californians who are ineligible for other nutrition programs. Participating jurisdictions will be published on www.covid19.ca.gov. More information on the program is available here.
Social Bridging Project
The Social Bridging Project aims to mobilize more than 1,000 callers to proactively reach out to older Californians who are isolating at home. The project will address social isolation through direct, one-on-one communication with older Californians, many living alone and isolated. Listos California has partnered with the California Department of Aging, United Airlines, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Sacramento State University to make the calls. The callers will check on the individuals’ well-being, connect them to resources, and connect with them on a personal level.
Friendship Line
The Newsom Administration is expanding the Friendship Line California to support lonely and isolated older Californians across the state. The Friendship Line is toll-free and available to provide emotional support to older adults facing loneliness, isolation, and anxiety. The California Department of Aging is partnering with the Institute on Aging to support this initiative.
More information on the these older adult-geared initiatives is available here.