My wife’s grandfather used to say that it was wonderful to grow old, but it was hell to be old. Truer words were never spoken when assessing the status of the 140,000 residents age 65 and older in the city of Dallas. Financial instability, social isolation, declining health, lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, limited mobility and difficult access to essential services destroy the joy of living a long life for thousands of Dallas senior citizens. Dallas will not be a world-class city if the quality of life of its elderly residents is neglected.

Between 2010 and 2020, the share of Dallas’ population aged 65 and older grew at nearly 5 times the rate of its younger population and accounted for almost a third of the city’s total growth. Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey statistics, nearly half of the senior households in Dallas are composed of people who live alone and are particularly susceptible to social isolation. One out of 5 seniors suffer from two or more disabilities. Most seniors live on a fixed income and have been severely impacted by the current inflationary spiral in the cost of housing, food and medical expenses. More than 60,000 Dallas seniors live in six City Council districts where the median senior household income is less than $2,500 per month. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of seniors living at or below the poverty level increased by 10.7% while the number of non-senior residents living in poverty decreased by 16.9%. One in every 7 Dallas seniors over the age of 74 are living on monthly income of $1,000 or less, and there were about 30,000 residents aged 60 or older living with annual income at or below $12,880, the federal poverty line in 2021.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, community resources targeted at seniors were not able to keep up with the rapidly growing population. People older than 64 bore the brunt of the pandemic, accounting for a third of hospitalizations and two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths in Dallas County, according to data from Dallas County Health and Human Services.

Many seniors lost their jobs during the pandemic and are struggling to find employment opportunities to supplement retirement income. Most of the services and programming targeted at seniors were suspended or dramatically curtailed during the pandemic, and service volumes are only now returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Social isolation has always been a problem for senior citizens but the pandemic increased this issue exponentially. The resulting mental health issues associated with loneliness and isolation can be overwhelming.

The well-being of senior citizens has never seemed a significant priority for Dallas. The city has never invested in dedicated senior centers to counter the social isolation that is so common among the elderly. The senior population is barely mentioned in the city’s published priorities, goals and performance measures. No senior executive at the city has been tasked with assessing the size and scope of issues confronting the senior population or developing comprehensive strategies on how best to address them. There is no centralized inventory of the programs, services and resources for seniors offered by numerous city departments, and success measures focus on year-over-year volume changes rather than holistically meeting resident needs.

To put this into perspective, think of the talent, resources and commitment that have been directed to the needs of the 4,000 homeless people in Dallas. There are well-organized collaborations, task forces, performance metrics and an amazing amount of publicity targeted at finding solutions to the homeless problem. It is a clear priority in the city budget and I applaud it. In contrast, there are at least 40,000 Dallas seniors who are living on the edge of homelessness and who desperately need assistance to meet their most basic needs for day-to-day living.

This is not a zero-sum comparison. We can prioritize both groups. Yet, sadly, the fastest growing and most vulnerable segment of our population seems almost invisible because state and local government officials have failed to prioritize the basic needs of our seniors.

The city manager, mayor and City Council members are currently planning the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. During this process, they should carefully reassess — seriously study with a real-world lens — how the city serves its senior population. A senior member of the city’s leadership team should be named to monitor all special services and programs for seniors across numerous city departments. The low participation in existing programs is largely the result of lack of awareness that various programs even exist. There needs to be an easy-to-use system to find out about all city senior programs, and a strategic senior communications plan is needed to better define ways to reach the elderly population. Funding is needed for outside consulting resources to identify and quantify the most significant senior problems, in order to provide metrics for the effectiveness of city initiatives. Put simply, our city leaders need to show in a tangible and effective manner that they care.

And here is a final bit of advice for Dallas senior citizens: Don’t be invisible. In the May 6 city elections, fewer than 55,000 people voted. There are more than 140,000 seniors living in Dallas. If we actively participate, we seniors can have a significant impact on city policy.

Make yourself known to your City Council representative and the members of their staff. Get on their mailing list so you will be notified of neighborhood meetings and round up several of your friends to attend. Be vocal about senior needs and problems. You may only be 11% of the population, but if 50% of the people who show up at meetings throughout the year are seniors, we will get City Hall’s attention. That is how to make senior affairs a top priority for the city of Dallas.

J. Peter Kline is a private investor in Dallas and serves as the chairman of the Dallas Senior Affairs Commission. He wrote this column for the Dallas Morning News.

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