Kalitha Williams fields concerns from aging residents in Lima on Thursday as part of AARP’s Ohio Deciding Voices tour.
Elijah Knodell | The Lima News
LIMA — From high costs of living and rising prescription drug costs to concerns about retirement and self-sufficiency, there is a wide range of issues affecting Ohio’s aging population. Ahead of this year’s midterm elections, AARP wants to make sure that voters over 50 have their voices heard.
AARP has hosted five focus group events this summer on its Ohio Deciding Voices tour, gathering perspectives from seniors across the state about issues they want to see addressed in November. Thursday’s event at the Bradfield Community Center in Lima was the group’s final stop.
Kalitha Williams, Outreach and Advocacy Manager for AARP Ohio, said that the aim is to identify the primary issues of concern affecting voters over the age of 50 in their day-to-day lives, as that demographic often has the largest sway at the polls and should not be left behind in the policy agenda.
“In the last major election, two years ago, voters 50 or older made up almost 60% of the local population. And so our members and our voters are people who are consistently showing up at the polls. We’re consistently talking to policymakers about issues of concern to them,” Williams said.
Williams said that there are a myriad of pressing economic issues facing seniors, and participants at prior events across Ohio had many of the same concerns.
“There are some big themes around the affordability of prescription drugs. A lot of people have retired, and just the expenses of paying for their life-saving drugs has been insurmountable,” she said.
Andrew Johnson, AARP Ohio’s Communications Director, also noted that there was growing anxiety about rising costs due to inflation. While Ohioans of all ages have been hit hard at the gas pump and the grocery store, the economic struggles have been especially tough for seniors. Some have even been changing their retirement plans to accommodate increased expenses.
“It’s especially a challenge for people who are on fixed incomes… There are people who have shared that their decision to retire may have been delayed; people are sharing that they’re thinking about going back to work because of just the increasing costs of things of day-to-day living like gas prices, food prices, and so on,” Williams said.
Once the survey is complete, AARP will publish its findings and use the information to help inform policymakers about what changes seniors need to thrive in the state.
“Our effort will also include well beyond the election, working directly with our state legislative officials to ensure that they are also aware of these issues so that we can advance the solution in the state legislature,” Williams said.
Though the listening tour is now complete, AARP encourages voters who would still like to share their experiences and views to visit www.aarp.org/OHvotes and fill out the online survey.
