Public Policy "NEWS"

How nutrition, housing, social connection impacts the health of older adults Through my mornings among the elderly, I understood that nutrition, housing, and social networks matter as much or more than other commonly understood health factors when it comes to improving the quality of life for older adults. Solutions for meeting their needs are connected, and neglecting any of them can cause repercussions that encircle everything else. Here’s how: A well-balanced diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein helps maintain strength and decreases the risk for chronic ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. These factors also help maintain overall cognitive function. Seniors are among the most food insecure. The lack of resources to buy nutritious food can contribute to malnutrition and weaker immune systems, which puts older people at risk for infections. Safe housing not ice-covered or poorly lit and secure housing means are in place to prevent entry by in

Between 2010 and 2018, landlords filed 505,924 eviction proceedings   in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a figure that the report, titled “ Priced Out, Pushed Out, Locked Out ,” calls “shocking” and “staggering. The county has made enormous investments in addressing homelessness, but these efforts are not enough, says Nisha Vyas,   director of Public Counsel’s homelessness prevention law project. What we’re seeing is that as soon as people are housed in shelters, they’re replaced on the streets by people who are newly homeless. Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority’s 2019 Homeless Count, which found that while 24,493 homeless residents were placed into interim housing in 2018, about 37,000 homeless residents were without shelter for the first time. The report’s authors also reiterated alarming statistics on the number of residents in Los Angeles who are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. According to an analysis of