Age-Friendly Communities Newsletter

September 2021

Project Updates

Greetings,

I hope you are well and enjoying the approaching end of this summer season. Thank you for reading and sharing these updates regarding the age-friendly project.

Age-Friendly Needs Assessment:

Our steering committee has been working on a plan for carrying out the age-friendly needs assessment this fall.

We are hosting a workgroup for age-friendly champions in September to set priorities for our community survey and receive input on other methods of data collection.

We will launch our age-friendly survey after the workgroup, and it will be available online and in print.

Our needs assessment plan also includes focus groups for different target populations, and we will work with participating towns interested in holding listening sessions with local elders.

Enrollment in AARP's Age-Friendly Network:

Following the designation of 9 area towns as age-friendly communities a few months ago, we are approaching the official enrollment of a second group of towns into AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.

This second group will include the towns of Bernardston, Colrain, Erving, Leverett, and Warwick, all of which have already issued letters of commitment to evaluating and improving the conditions facing people as they age.

The towns of Northfield, Petersham and Heath have also started the process of joining the network.

As the project moves forward, we will continue to connect with Councils on Aging and Selectboards to enroll more area towns into the AARP network. Please reach out to us if you would like your town to consider becoming an age-friendly community. (nelkhattabystrauch@lifepathma.org / 413-773-5555 x2299)

Upcoming virtual workshop

Dementia and Community:

Working with people living with memory loss

Join us for a virtual education program on Dementia friendly practices on Wednesday, September 8 from 3 to 4:30pm. The information covered includes an overview of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, their impact on the brain and body, some of the behavioral and communication challenges faced by those living with the disease, and helpful strategies for working with this population. This program is presented by Meghan Lemay, Regional Manager of the Alzheimer's Association in Western MA.

To register for this program, click here: https://action.alz.org/MTG/76238385 or call 800-272-3900 or email Meghan Lemay at mlemay@alz.org

Annual Age and Dementia Friendly Summit

For the third year in a row, age-friendly communities from across the commonwealth are gathering at the annual Age and Dementia Friendly Summit to learn from one another's experiences and hear from various experts. The two day summit will be held virtually this year. Topics of discussion will include building age-friendly coalitions, engaging local government leaders, creating intergenerational networks, reducing the digital divide and others.

September 27th and 28th are the dates for this year's summit, which is organized by AARP Massachusetts in collaboration with MA Healthy Aging Collaborative, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and other organizations. The summit aims to "expand understanding of how municipalities across Massachusetts can make every community a great place to grow up and grow older together."

Click HERE to register or to read more about this year's agenda.

Contact info:

For questions, comments, or if you would like to share a story or article through this newsletter, please reach out to Age-Friendly Project Manager Nour Elkhattaby Strauch at:

nelkhattabystrauch@lifepathma.org

413-829-9274

Helpful Links:

AARP Age-Friendly Training Videos

Age- and Dementia- Friendly Education Programs

Age-Friendly Project Slides

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Age-Friendly Project

Steering Committee Members

Our deepest gratitude to each of our steering committee members:

Amanda Mankowsky - North Quabbin Community Coalition
Cathy Savoy - Athol Council on Aging
Denise Schwartz - OASIS council at GCC
Jeanne Dodge - Rainbow Elders
Lisa Enzer - Movement Educator
Lisa White - FRCOG
Liz Kelner - Interfaith Council of Franklin County
Lynne Feldman - LifePath
Mary Giannetti - Heywood Healthcare
Meg Ryan - FRCOG
Rachel Stoler - FRCOG

About the Age-Friendly project:

LifePath's Age- and Dementia-Friendly project is a community-led effort that aims to bring about policy and systems-level change to make Franklin County and the North Quabbin more livable for people of all ages, with a focus on older adults.

This global model was developed by the World Health Organization and has been adopted by over one thousand communities worldwide. Using an 8-domain model focused on both the built environment and the social environment, the project will convene and support regional stakeholders to assess the current needs of the older population and propose concrete steps to meet those needs, including policy and planning recommendations, community education programs and physical improvements.

The Age-Friendly Project is supported by the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Fund, one of three funding opportunities created as a result of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's landmark revision of the Determination of Need regulation in 2017.