The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc. was founded in 1974 by the Community Planning Council of Northwestern Ohio, Inc., a United Way planning agency. The Area Office on Aging was initially established to operate as a planning division within that agency. In 1979, the staff approached the Board of Trustees of United Way, Community Planning Council and Ohio Commission on Aging, aka, the Ohio Department on Aging, and requested permission to organize a free-standing, independent, private, non-profit corporation to better serve northwest Ohio's older population. Approval was granted by all parties and the original organizers of the new corporation were: Henry L. Morse, J. Frank Troy, Elliott Miller, Duane Stranahan Jr., and Billie Johnson.

In 1980, the agency was chartered under Ohio law as a 501(c)(3) corporation. The corporation was established as a comprehensive agency for the elderly, responsible for planning, policy-making, funding, advocacy, and programs and services for a ten-county region in northwest Ohio. The corporation was not exclusively chartered as an "area agency on aging". Instead, it requested and received approval to retain the "area agency" designation previously granted by the Ohio Commission on Aging/Ohio Department of Aging but expanded to include a broader mission of service to all older persons, not just the targeted groups under the Older Americans Act.

The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc. is responsible at the local level, for the development and implementation of a comprehensive and coordinated service delivery system for older adults residing in Northwestern Ohio. It is also responsible for regional and local planning and development of programs and services. In carrying out its mission, the Agency is responsible for the following activities, as set forth under its Charter and Articles of Incorporation:

• Providing advocacy on behalf of senior citizens;
• Empowering older persons to realize their fullest potential;
• Coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating all senior programs and services;
• Serving as the focal point for leadership for regional planning and service development for programs on aging;
• Developing and maintaining a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for older adults in Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Sandusky, Williams and Wood Counties;
• Providing direct services to the elderly in areas where services are needed, and not available;
• Developing and implementing a plan, approved by the Ohio Commission on aging (or its successor under the Older Americans Act);
• Granting or contracting funds and resources to qualified, non-profit, private or public agencies to operate services and programs for older adults; and,
• Seeking other grants and resources to enhance the quality of life for older adults.

Fast Facts

• 8 out of 10 of the counties served by the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio have senior service levies. (AOoA Strategic Plan 1999-2000)
• During 1997, PASSPORT provided services to a monthly average of 1100 seniors throughout Northwestern Ohio. (AOoA Strategic Plan 1999-2000)
• Transportation and nutrition are the services most frequently requested services at AOoA. (AOoA 1998 Needs Assessment Survey)
• Of Ohio's age 65 and over population, 32.8% experience some degree of physical disability. (1997 Scripps Gerontology Center)
• 74% of the persons age 85 or over in Northwestern Ohio are women. (1997 Ohio Department of Development, Office of Strategic Research)