Thirdcloud Publications Surf City Strand Mag January 2016

The big issue for Surf City’s Community Service Commission is how to help everyone realize exactly how injurious this stereotype is for both younger and older members of our community. Just because the impact isn’t immediately smeared across an intersection in front of the school doesn’t lessen the impact on the community. There are many reasons to invest in eradicating the implicit ageism that infiltrates into our own thinking and behaviors throughout the community. Most importantly, it’s a public health issue. Carrying on the research of Dr. Robert Butler, Becca Levy, Ph.D. and Martin Slade Ph.D. writing for the Yale School of Public Health and the Association for Psychological Science say that people who internalize stereotypes on old age when they are still young—carry far reaching health consequences which include episodes of heart disease later in life. This creates an economic impact on society as well. Community attitudes won’t change just because older Surf City residents are dropping in at the pier or challenging the stereotype of aging by skydiving, whitewater rafting and flying hot-‐air balloons. The issue is not just a cautionary tale to never grow old either. Today, we have an opportunity to do something positive and build on change— just like building our new senior center in central park. We need to invest in community health by attacking needed cultural changes that will make a long term difference in our community with the creation of the Surf City Anti-‐Ageism Taskforce. To get past ageism in Huntington Beach, we need our Community Service Commission to dispatch an Anti-‐Ageism Taskforce to institute an awareness and education campaign throughout the community. To begin, people need to recognize the myths about aging and negative attitudes about older adults. Far too many members of the Surf City community are willing to accept that older adults’ lives are less valuable, less deserving and largely responsible for growing health care or other social costs. Labels like “seniors” say nothing about being mentally capable, healthy or a reliable worker or volunteer in the community. We need to go beyond those labels and stereotypes to focus on highlighting older adults’ as individuals, elevating their collective accomplishments and lifelong contributions to our community. How many people know the role the HBCOA plays in the Surfing Walk of Fame, it’s important don’t you think?

Thirdcloud Publications Surf City Strand Mag January 2016 | Page 27