AGE+ & 4RHC held a Successful Event about Living & Aging in Malheur County on August 20, 2022.

182 Malheur County residents gathered in 4 different locations (Ontario, Nyssa, Vale and Jordan Valley) to discuss what it’s like getting older in their communities.

By 2030 there will be as many adults 65+ as there will be children under 18. This is a
permanent shift in our statewide demographics. 20-25% of the state will soon be an older adult

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• In Malheur County, from 2016 – 2035, the population of older adults is growing by 32% while the population of children is shrinking by 3%. (show pyramid for Malheur County from PRC Whitepaper Source) Rural Oregon is aging even faster.

• The older population is much more diverse than ever before, and community support for older people are not culturally specific. Currently, 34% of Malheur County residents are Latino/a/x. (image of an Hispanic older adult? On the flyer somewhere?)

Community members were asked (I imagine these questions floating at angles in “thought-clouds”):

• What does a community look like where all residents age well?

• What are the resources that you think you need to achieve that?

• What are the assets that are working in your community?
  What are some things that you love about your community?

Attendees love Malheur County and the small towns in which they live!

• The quiet, open spaces.

• Good, caring people in the communities.

• Senior Centers and Service clubs.

You said you need access, availability, and affordability of the following (perhaps using colored
circles & little symbols):

• Comprehensive Healthcare

• Flexible Transportation

• Food

• Housing

• Social & Recreational Activitie

• Assistance finding and using support services (perhaps this goes in the center?)

Thank you to local Hosts and Sponsors:
Community in Action; Eastern Oregon Center for Independent Living (EOCIL); Eastern Oregon
Community Care Organization (EOCCO); Euvalcree; The Ford Family Foundation; Four Rivers
Healthy Community (4RHC); Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO); Lifeways;
Malheur Council on Aging and Community Services (MCOACS); Malheur County Health
Department (MCHD); Malheur County Senior Advisory Council; Malheur Education Service
District; Marlin Computer Consulting; Mayor Tom Vialpando of the City of Vale; Northwest
Housing Alternatives; Nyssa Senior Center; Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS),
District 14; Oregon Food Bank; Oregon State University Extension; Origins Faith Community;
Valley Family Health Care (VFHC).