Santa Cruz County is asking its residents to help create a local master plan for aging.

On Monday, it opened a public survey with questions about housing, healthcare, transportation, parks, libraries, community centers and any other services that support healthy aging.

“We hope to hear from a diverse and representative group of county residents over age 40, with robust response participation from people in every demographic group across age, ability, race, ethnicity, gender, orientation and socio-economic status,” said Adam Spickler, spokesperson for the county’s Human Services Department.

“The shortage in health care providers is a national crisis. It’s increasing in our community as well because our community is aging.” Adam Spickler, San Joaquin County – Human Services Department

In 2021, California adopted its master plan for aging, an ambitious 10-year blueprint that includes programs to address everything from the way cities are designed to the recruitment and training of health care providers. 

“The shortage in health care providers is a national crisis,” Spickler said. “It’s increasing in our community as well because our community is aging.”

The total population of people over age 60 in Santa Cruz County has increase 50 percent since 2010, according to the U.S. Census. By 2030, that age group is expected to reach 30 percent.

The survey aims to identify emerging needs and gaps in services, as well as the experiences one has when obtaining services for themselves or for someone else. It takes about eight minutes to complete.

The survey will be available online from Jan. 8 to Mar. 31 at www.agewellsantacruzcounty.org and www.buenavejezcondadodesantacruz.org.  For more about the survey, contact AgeWell@santacruzcountyca.gov or (831) 454-4397.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.