MONUMENT • The Innovation in Aging Collaborative, a nonprofit whose mission is to make El Paso County “age friendly,” will hold a 90-minute listening session at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, 166 2nd St. El Paso County citizens will have the opportunity to contribute their ideas on how the county can best enhance quality of life for its older residents.

IIAC, which is supported by El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs, will present initial findings from the listening sessions and receive further input at a half-day summit on Non. 17 at City Auditorium in Colorado Springs.

IIAC previously developed and implemented (from 2016 to 2021) a five-year Age Friendly plan for the City of Colorado Springs. Among the many improvements influenced by that process were the creation of an Age Friendly business designation with the Better Business Bureau; redesign of five city parks to better serve older users; the city ordinance governing Accessory Dwelling Units; and creation of a city Commission on Aging and an affordable housing collaborative.

“The 65-and-over age group is El Paso County’s fastest-growing demographic,” said Judith Scott, UCCS assistant professor of nursing and co-chair of IIAC’s Age Friendly steering committee, “so ensuring a high quality of life for our older neighbors is a crucial issue for all of us.”

According to census data, the number of El Paso County residents age 65 and over has more than doubled in the past two decades, to an estimated 99,406 as of 2021.

For more information or to sign up for a listening session or the summit, e-mail info@innovationsinaging.org.