How It All Started.

When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65^th birthday. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were few programs to meet their needs. But interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy met with members of the National Council of Senior Citizens to designated May as “Senior Citizens Month”, a prelude to “Older Americans Month.”