Mayor’s office marks one year, council presses for faster housing fixes for older adults

At a Baltimore City Council meeting, Director Andoria Harmon, director of the Mayor’s Office of Older Adult Affairs and Advocacy, summarized the office’s first year of work and outlined plans to develop an age-friendly strategic plan while council members pressed for faster action on housing and service backlogs affecting older residents.

Harmon said the office — which she called “one year of impact” — has embedded staff in communities, launched lunch-and-learn events at senior housing and churches, and taken over staffing for the Mayor’s Commission on Aging and Retirement and Empowerment from the Baltimore City Health Department’s Division of Aging and Community Support. “This office is celebrating an anniversary 1 year,” Harmon said. “The mayor's office of older adult affairs and advocacy has established a community presence.”

The presentation matters because council members said systemic delays in housing and home-repair programs leave older residents waiting for services they need to remain safe in their homes. Councilwoman Ramos and other members asked the…