About 42 percent of Las Cruces seniors are unfamiliar with nine major programs meant to support them, according to a survey presented to the Las Cruces Council on Jan. 27.
The survey – which also looked at home and living conditions, safety, in-home assistance, mobility, health and financial concerns – called for more promotion of the underused programs meant to serve one of Las Cruces’ largest demographics. It also called for the city to consider hosting more recreational programs to grow attendance at senior centers and a follow-up survey.
“Satisfaction among those who use senior centers is very high, yet non-usage is primarily due to lack of awareness and interest, along with transportation and affordability concerns,” the survey concluded.
According to the U.S. Census, Las Cruces has about 36,237 seniors, who are defined as anyone over 50 years old. That's about 33 percent of all Las Cruces residents.
The survey found that around 77 to 85 percent of senior residents were well aware of services, including home-delivered meals to seniors, congregate lunches, transportation services and recreational activities. About half said they were aware of case management services.
The same results found that between 32 and 36 percent of seniors were aware of homemaker services, aging and disability resources, grandparents raising grandchildren support and respite care.
“To no surprise, those same five had the least amount of usage by seniors,” said John Savicky, who presented the survey results on behalf of surveyors Simplar Sourcing Solutions. “You’ll see that, on average, it’s 4 percent (usage) for those five (services).”
When asked why they don’t use a senior center (the main venue for program connections), about half the senior respondents said either lack of awareness or lack of interest kept them from using the services. The rest said they were concerned about the spread of COVID-19, transportation or affordability.
City Councilor Yvonne Flores raised questions about the survey methodology. She pointed out that, despite reaching out to seniors via utility bills and local events and businesses, there was likely a population of underserved seniors who were not among the 698 residents surveyed.
“If seniors are homebound and they don’t get out, or they don’t actually open their bill when they pay it, that’s a limitation of these results,” Savicky said.
Otherwise, the survey found that the seniors of Las Cruces generally have safe and well-maintained home environments, feel safe in their homes, have not been the victims of crime or scams, do not need in-home assistance, and have a support system of family or friends to rely on for transportation if they don’t drive themselves.