Chula Vista, CA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities

Description: To honor community elders and bring awareness to the value of older adults in the community, the City of Chula Vista invited older residents to submit photographs and stories of their lives. They then selected several to adorn banners, which the City displayed on light posts along major streets. Additionally, the banners included the URL for a website where residents can read the featured stories and find age-friendly resources. This program ensures that the older adults in our lives know that they are appreciated for the important role they have in our community, Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said.

Chula Vista, CA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public or private transit access

Description: The City of Chula Vista wanted to increase older adults' familiarity with public transit options. Partnering with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, they held Travel Training 101 courses with more than forty older residents. Instructors provided trainees with information on how to read transit schedules, plan trips and purchase fares. Then they held field trips, using transit to visit a community festival and the Norman Park Senior Center. Additionally, participants received a 30-day senior transit pass. Following the training, participants said they felt more comfortable using transit, with 83 percent planning to renew their passes. One said she realized that the 20-minute bus ride between their home and the Senior Center saved her 62 a month. Previously she paid 40 round trip by taxi at least twice monthly.