CLIMATE CHANGE FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER EVENTS

Abstract There is a growing field of evidence that individuals experiencing homelessness are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to factors like exposure to the elements, lack of resources and services, as well as disenfranchisement and stigma; all while experiencing greater occurrences of environmental injustice. Given that there are distinct needs for older individuals experiencing homelessness when affected by disasters, this study will report salient themes identified from qualitative interviews with five residential shelters on considerations they incorporate when disaster planning for their older residents. Thematic analysis revealed older age and homelessness have serious implications for planning, responding and in the recovery of disasters. Challenges to finding accessible transitional and permanent housing, limitations to workforce re-entry, increasing income inequality between classes, limitations to mental health services and policies, and cultural justifications for criminalizing poverty and homelessness contribute to our collective understanding of disaster vulnerability when older adults experience homelessness.


AGING, DISASTERS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: ROLE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
Chair: Judith Robertson R. Phillips, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, California, United States Co-Chair: Melissa L. Cannon, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon, United States Discussant: Zhen Cong, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, United States Continuing changes in the world's climate put the older adult population more at risk than other age groups. Multiple circumstances such as disasters and environmental events brought about by climate change impair the ability of older adults to maintain healthy physical and psychological well-being. Unfortunately, during these times, public and individual emergency preparation plans often fall short of having the needed resources to reach out and offer assistance to older adults. Co-sponsored by the Environmental Gerontology and Disasters and Older Adults Interest Groups, four presenters will highlight multiple circumstances where older adults face serious physical and psychological consequences as a result of climate change issues: 1) the loss of electrical power and its impact on hypothermia and hyperthermia in older adults, 2) the loss of basic public health services after Hurricane Maria and its contribution to older adults' reduced psychological well-being including increased levels of suicide, 3) homeless older adults experiencing a disaster and their resulting increased need for resources, and 4) older adults in the path of violent tornadoes and their ability to cope on their own. These presenters will discuss actions, interventions, and development of emergency disaster preparation plans that would be beneficial for older adult response and recovery. The fifth paper will review the theoretical backgrounds of and previous studies on Anthropocene with a focus on climate change policy and practice. Collectively, these papers will address various means by which older adults are affected by climate change and optimal practices to speed recovery.

ACTIONS TO REDUCE RISK OF OLDER ADULTS DURING EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS THAT THREATEN HEALTH AND LIFE
Lisa M. Brown 1 , 1. Palo Alto University, Plo Alto, California, United States Climate change places many older adults at unique risk for adverse, potentially life-threatening consequences. Compared to younger adults, older adults are more susceptible to the effects of extreme weather events and at greater risk for heat stroke and hypothermia. With advanced age, some people have vulnerabilities, such as social isolation and physical and mental health conditions that predispose them to a greater level of danger. Loss of power, that leaves people without functioning cooling or heating systems, can cause death because it exacerbates preexisting medical conditions and impairs thermoregulatory function for those with medical illnesses or taking certain medications. Many older adults who function independently may not self-identify as being vulnerable and take necessary precautions to remain safe. This presentation will describe recent research that found that many older adults are unaware of hypothermia and hyperthermia symptoms and the actions needed to maintain health and life.

CLIMATE CHANGE FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER EVENTS Allison Gibson 1 , 1. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
There is a growing field of evidence that individuals experiencing homelessness are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to factors like exposure to the elements, lack of resources and services, as well as disenfranchisement and stigma; all while experiencing greater occurrences of environmental injustice. Given that there are distinct needs for older individuals experiencing homelessness when affected by disasters, this study will report salient themes identified from qualitative interviews with five residential shelters on considerations they incorporate when disaster planning for their older residents. Thematic analysis revealed older age and homelessness have serious implications for planning, responding and in the recovery of disasters. Challenges to finding accessible transitional and permanent housing, limitations to workforce re-entry, increasing income inequality between classes, limitations to mental health services and policies, and cultural justifications for criminalizing poverty and homelessness contribute to our collective understanding of disaster vulnerability when older adults experience homelessness. This study examines factors related to holding, revising, and developing an individual emergency preparation plan among older adults who experienced violent tornadoes. A telephone survey was conducted with 543 respondents approximately one year after two violent tornadoes in 2013 with 276 respondents aged 65 or above. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression showed that education was positively associated with a higher likelihood of having a plan among younger but not older adults. Among those who had a plan before the tornado, older, but not younger, adults who experienced more stress were more likely to report the plan as helpful. More stress and having someone in the household with disability increased the likelihood of revising plans afterward among older adults but not among younger adults. Older adults were less likely to develop a new plan and older, but not younger, adults who reported more stress were more likely to develop a plan.

FEASIBILITY OF AN EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION WITH OLDER ADULTS IN POST-HURRICANE MARIA PUERTO RICO Denise Burnette 1 , 1. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States
Owing to out-migration, decreased fertility and longer lifespans, 18.5% of Puerto Rico's population is aged 60+ --36% live alone and 40% are below poverty. Out-migration after Hurricane Maria may well raise the proportion of older adults to 30%. Mental health problems are among the most widespread and enduring effects of disasters. Common Mental Disorders (CMD) (anxiety, depression, traumatic stress) are most common. Before Maria, CDC data showed 38 % of persons age 65+ reported fair or poor health and 20% had been told they had a depressive disorder. In the months after Maria, the overall suicide rate rose 29%, while it more than doubled for people aged 65-69 and tripled for those aged 75-79. This pilot study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of adapting the Friendship Bench, an evidencebased intervention developed in Zimbabwe for CMD, for use with older adults in primary care in Puerto Rico.

THE ANTHROPOCENE AND THE LONGEVITY REVOLUTION
Moon Choi 1 , 1. KAIST Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy, Daejeon, Korea, Republic of The Anthropocene, a term popularized in 2010 by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen, refers to the current epoch during which human beings have begun to have a significant impact on the earth, e.g., the environment and climate change. Global population has grown approximately seven-fold over the past 200 years, while average life expectancy at birth has dramatically increased due to improvements in nutrition, medicine, and technology. The human Longevity Revolution thus provides important evidence of the Anthropocene. Yet, in the face of the Anthropocene, contemporary lifestyles rooted in capitalism-continually seeking more and bigger-are not sustainable; changes are needed for humanity to "live long on the damaged planet." This presentation will discuss the Longevity Revolution in the context of the theory and previous research on the Anthropocene, then suggest an agenda for future research related to the intersection between the Anthropocene and the Longevity Revolution. This symposium addresses minority issues in aging, specifically issues of gender, race and ethnicity, in the study of cognitive health and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD). Cabrera examines ADRD in the Latino community noting that there are or may be important differences among subgroups of Latinos, e.g. Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, who are too often considered a homogenous group. Using qualitative methods, specifically focus groups, she explores whether these two groups have a different understanding of or different concerns about ADRD. Dallo considers the epidemiology of ADRD among Arab Americans. Noting the dearth of evidence on this ethnic group, she uses the National Health Interview Survey from 2000-2017 to examine the prevalence of ADRD among foreign-born Arab American compared to Whites, Blacks and Asians. Indiro et al., consider the long reach of childhood SES on age-related brain changes in different racial and ethnic older adults. Finally, Byrd considers gender differences in cognitive health in the Baltimore Study of Black Aging and finds that women actually report better