![\"City](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/listening-session-3-Megan.jpg\")
<\/a>In any project like this, there needs to be a major effort to ask people what they need to make their lives as seniors better.<\/p>\n
Heading up the La Mesa effort is Sue Richardson, the city\u2019s community services director, and Lori Clarke, chief program officer for San Diego State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are eight categories we need peoples\u2019 feedback about,\u201d said Richardson. \u201cBuildings and outdoor spaces, transportation, housing, social programs, respect and social inclusion, civic participation, communication and information, and community support and health services. We\u2019ve gathered much of that feedback through a series of community conversations and what are called \u2018pop-up\u2019 events, where we ask people 45-and-up what their biggest concerns and questions are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lori Clarke says that\u2019s the first step \u2014 knowing what the concerns are.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we have that feedback, we\u2019ll then start committees that will come up with possibilities that can ultimately be taken to the city of La Mesa government for possible action,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Carole Hair, an attendee at one of the community conversation meetings, provided a good example of the questions citizens want answers to.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband and I live just across the line, actually in Del Cerro, but we really want to move to a place like La Mesa. We\u2019re empty-nesters now, and we need to get out of a four-bedroom home that\u2019s just way too much for us. Things we need to know are things like: will there be good public transportation for us when we need to stop driving, which will come sooner than we\u2019d like it to. Will there be good housing available for us to get into \u2026 access to stores, restaurants \u2014 the things most seniors worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The month of March will begin the process of breaking the gathered information into categories that can be worked on.<\/p>\n
This is not a quick process.<\/p>\n
It may take most of a year to outline the goals the research indicates are needed.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t had a chance to attend one of the workshops in person, you can still offer input on the Livable La Mesa effort online at tinyurl.com\/livablelamesa.<\/p>\n
No one is guaranteeing huge successes here, politics being what it is. But simply the fact that effort is being made should turn the heads of those who make decisions.<\/p>\n