Fifth Annual Aging Symposium Examines Inequalities of
Gender, Race and Class

The fifth annual North Carolina Summer Symposium on Aging, "Gender, Race, and Class: Enduring Inequalities in Later Life," convenes in Asheville July 12-14.  The symposium is hosted by the N.C. Center for Creative Retirement at UNC Asheville, supported by the University of North Carolina Institute on Aging, and co-sponsored by Mountain Area Health Education Center and the Land-of-Sky Regional Council Area Agency on Aging.  

Symposium planners and participants represent gerontology programs from the state’s many colleges and universities (public and private), the N.C. Division of Aging, local and regional aging network leaders, and leaders of statewide advocacy groups. The annual event is unique in giving researchers, teachers, service providers and planners an opportunity to inform and challenge one another as to the best ways to improve the lives of older North Carolinians and their families.

National expert in social welfare issues, Paula Dressel, associate dean for Graduate Studies at Georgia State University, will present the Symposium keynote presentation showing that "the financial well-being of older African Americans and elders of Hispanic origin continue to lag behind that of their white counterparts." As older Americans continue to live longer and healthier lives, minority elders suffer the consequences of poorer health care and economic disadvantages that can lead to poverty in old age. Dressel and other featured speakers, such as Karen Roberto, a national expert on rural aging, and Janis King Robinson, an expert in cultural issues, will offer research findings and recommendations for action to remedy these problems.

Symposium workshops will look at topics of importance in aging today, focusing especially on those of statewide importance:

• Housing options: do all seniors have choices?
• Leadership Programs: tapping the state’s growing pool of talented seniors
• Long term care: a vision for the future
• Mental health: serving hard to reach populations
• Class and race differences in health status and access
• Recruiting and retaining nursing assistants and in-home aides
• Retiree in-migration: boon or burden for our communities?
• Spirituality and its benefits for aging
• Native American elders: their mental and physical health

This year’s Symposium will also feature two performances, a one-act play on the challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease, written by James Peacock, Assistant Professor of gerontology at UNC-Charlotte and performed by the Autumn Players of Asheville Community Theater, and "A Mountain Riddle," a one-act play on the life of Jane Gentry performed by renowned actress Betty Smith and produced by the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater.

"Since the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement is the host this year, we wanted to ensure the meeting drew upon the arts as another way to explore the issues," said Ron Manheimer, Center director and co-chair of the local arrangements committee. The Center will showcase many of its programs at a July 14 breakfast session, "Waking Up to Creativity and Aging."

For more information on the Symposium and registration material or to attend the two dramatic presentations, call the Center for Creative Retirement office at 828/251-6140.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Ron Manheimer, NCCCR Director, 828/232-5180
• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6526