by Carol Leish
The Ventura County Area on Aging (VCAAA), has been/continues to be helping people over the age of 60 since 1980. “Within the past 10 years it has expanded to be able to also help people of all ages with disabilities, which includes those with low vision or who are hard of hearing or deaf, in order to enhance the quality of their lives,” according to, Jannette Jauregui, VCAAA Public Information Officer. “We are proud that we’ve continued to find better and improved methods of reaching older adults and people with disabilities in better ways over time, since there are 200,000 older adults and people with disabilities living within Ventura County.”
VCAAA has recently won both national and state awards. “The VCAAA is the recipient of two National Mature Media Awards and a California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO) award,” according to, Jauregui. “Projects that received acknowledgement include, ‘LIVEWELL’ and the ‘Navigating Medicare Enrichment video production.’ Both of these have been recognized as having the state and nation’s best marketing, communications, and educational materials produced for older adults and people with disabilities.”
“LIVEWELL, which won a CAPIO Award of Distinction and a Silver Award from the National Mature Media Awards, in the premier resource guide for; older adults; people with disabilities of all ages; and, caregivers within Ventura County,” according to, Jauregui. The LIVEWELL resource guide includes information within Ventura County dealing with: active living; community resources; transportation; financial and legal services; food resources; and, medical services.
“Navigating Medicare Enrollment received a Silver Award from the National Mature Media Award, and was produced as part of the VCAAA’s Health Insurance and Advocacy Program (HICAP), with a goal to assist people who are new to, or have questions regarding, Medicare enrollment,” according to, Jauregui.
Victoria Jump, Director of the VCAAA said that, “The VCAAA is honored to have received the recognition and is proud of the impact that our marketing and communication efforts have had on the community.”
“Services across the board, including the senior nutrition program,” according to, Jauregui, “continues to exist since COVID-19. Our case managers have been conducting wellness checks over the phone or in person, with masks on, and at a safe distance. These are ‘porch visits’ that benefit the clients in order to makes sure that they have all that they need while living at home, since it’s our goal to have people to continue to be able to live at home.”
“The VCAAA Advisory Board has reps from the 10 cities within Ventura County that advocate and represent our senior and people with disabilities constituents needs,” according to the chair, Suz Montgomery. “We are appointed by our respective city councils, which is a big deal. We all serve as a voice for the community.”
During this difficult time during the pandemic the VCAAA is still open and operating. It also continues to be a resource of a wealth of information. Call: (805) 477-7300. And, look for more information on the website at: www.vcaaa.org.
Carol Leish
