Forum to Explore McLean's Growing Senior Population

Temple Rodef Shalom is hosting a forum tonight to get people involved in the community to plan for an aging population.

About 70 people are expected to the event at the temple where community organizations have been invited, including churches institutions that are part of V.O.I.C.E (Virginians Organize for Interfaith Community Engagement), local community centers, the chamber of commerce, and Supervisor John Foust.

For the last several months, a group of Rodef Shalom members has been researching issues that are of vital importance to Fairfax County residents as they age.

Three main areas of concern: the scarcity of intellectual classes for seniors in the McLean/Falls Church area, the lack of accessible, affordable public transportation and the lack of services being provided for seniors at the McLean Community Center, according to the temple's website.

The forum will be hearing stories about how these issues affect the community and asking allies to “make commitments to work with us as we move forward.”

Supervisor Foust started a similar discusssion last year and established a group to look at reinventing McLean to better serve its aging Baby Boomer population.

Nearly 100 McLean residents gathered at the Capital One building in October beginning to grapple with the question of how to reinvent a suburban community centered around cars to accommodate Baby Boomers who want to grow old here when they can no longer drive.

Ten percent of the county's 1 million residents are 65 or older. But in McLean, 17 percent of the nearly 50,000 residents are 65 or older. McLean is the Florida of Fairfax County. Baby Boomers started turning 65 this year and McLean brims with graying Baby Boomers.

Date: Thursday, June 28 from 7:30-8:45 p.m. (Please arrive by 7 p.m.)

Location: Temple Rodef Shalom, 2100 Westmoreland Street, Falls Church, VA 22403

For More Information Contact: Erica Asch: Erica.asch@gmail.com