Redwood City offers programming and activities for seniors through several city and community-based agencies. These agencies provide a range of services to the older adults of Redwood City. These services focus on programs, activities, and information dedicated to the growing multi-cultural aging population, their caregivers and families. For example, the Veterans Memorial Senior Center and the YMCA offer a variety of senior-focused classes. The classes are intended to help older persons be informed, healthy and independent.

Additionally, Redwood City has an active Senior Affairs Commission that advises City Council on older adult issues. In order to make Redwood City more age-friendly, we are implementing three new projects based on our focus group data. These projects are going to be part of a series and will be ongoing. First, many seniors said that they felt isolated and sometimes lonely, and few late afternoon-early evening activities, so we are going to implement a senior social club at the Fair Oaks Adult Activity Center. This will be a monthly event, and will include refreshments, music, dancing and socializing. The second event is titled “Appy Hour,” where tech-savvy volunteers are going to teach the older adults how to use a variety of digital devices, including their smartphones, e-readers, tablets and laptops. The intention is to make this an ongoing intervention, empowering older persons’ use of technology. The third project to be launched will be game nights at the YMCA where older persons can engage with interactive games that challenge vocabulary and balance, spatial awareness and recognition games, and especially games where they can engage with others. The intention is to make game night a monthly event at the YMCA.