Healthy Aging Starts with Connection
By: Michelle Matter
Every May, Older Americans Month provides an opportunity to recognize the contributions, experiences, and resilience of older adults while also reflecting on how we can build healthier, more connected, and age-friendly communities for people of all ages.
This year’s theme, Champion Your Health, focuses on prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as important foundations for healthy aging. It reminds us that healthy aging is not only about healthcare, but also about staying socially connected, informed, engaged, and supported within our communities.
Earlier this month, I was honored to attend the San Diego City Council meeting as a member of the San Diego Senior Affairs Advisory Board to accept a proclamation recognizing Older Americans Month. I was grateful to see the City acknowledging the importance of older adults and healthy aging initiatives across our region.
However, during public comment, one statement caught me off guard. A speaker expressed frustration that communities celebrate Older Americans Month while many older adults still experience isolation, poor care, neglect, and a lack of dignity within aging systems.
As someone involved in age-friendly initiatives and community engagement efforts, I found the comment disheartening, not because those concerns do not exist, but because I also see the tremendous work happening every day across our region to better support older adults and caregivers. Countless organizations, advocates, healthcare professionals, volunteers, and community leaders are working to create more connected, inclusive, and supportive communities for aging populations.
At the same time, the comment served as an important reminder that many older adults and families still feel unseen, unsupported, or disconnected from available resources and services.
In many of the focus groups and community conversations we conduct with older adults, one theme emerges repeatedly. It’s not the lack of programs that creates barriers, but the lack of awareness about what is available and how to access support.
Building age-friendly communities is not simply about creating more services, but improving communication, reducing isolation, strengthening outreach, and ensuring older adults feel seen, valued, and connected.
At the SDSU Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity (CEAL), we see firsthand how connection can positively impact health and well-being. Through programs like our Community CallHub, older adults receive regular social phone calls that help reduce isolation and foster meaningful connection. Our monthly events, Intergenerational Coffee and the Reel Connections Cinema Club, create opportunities for people of all ages to learn from and connect with one another. These efforts may seem simple, but they play an important role in helping people feel supported, engaged, and valued within their communities.
This Older Americans Month, we all have an opportunity to help older adults champion their health. Whether through a phone call, sharing resources, inviting someone to participate in a community activity, or simply taking time to check in, small actions can make a meaningful difference.
Healthy aging is a shared community responsibility.
