Save the Date for NJAAW's Annual Conference

NJAAW's 27th Annual Conference will take place on Friday, May 16 at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.

This year's theme, "The Faces of Aging," celebrates and explores the diversity of New Jersey's older residents and the broad range of challenges, strengths, and possibilities we face as we follow trends towards an older population.

Our Call for Speaker Proposals is open until February 15th. We are interested in and encourage a range of presentation styles and topics, including expert panels, slides, videos, research, audience interaction and engagement that explore the many faces of aging here in the Garden State. For details on the conference and how to submit a proposal, click here: Call for Proposals

Speakers will be notified by March 1st.

New Jersey Joins MPA Learning Collaborative

New Jersey has joined several states in a 12-month learning collaborative to explore a Multisector Plan on Aging (MPA).

The Multisector Plan for Aging Learning Collaborative, led by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), is a learning community that helps states advance their MPAs. The New Jersey team, with representatives from Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services, Department of Health, AARP-NJ and NJAAW joins Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas to build on work already underway in their states.

To date, 27 state teams from across the country have participated in this unique cross-sector learning opportunity launched in 2022.

To support state success, the collaborative is providing:

• Peer-to-peer exchange that fosters the sharing of best practices and lessons;
• Access to a network of experts, including those who have helped advance MPAs in other states; and
• Technical assistance on how to build cross-sector buy-in and facilitate a collaborative MPA development process.

Read more about the Collaborative here: MPA Collaborative

British Telecom Company Fights Scammers with AI Grandmother

Its hard to know how to feel about this - at first, I was concerned that this story would be full of ageism and stereotypes. However, in learning more, I found it uses the very ageist stereotypes held by scammers against them.   

British telecom company Virgin Media O2 recently introduced “dAIsy”, a custom-made chabot that personifies a typical British grandmother (the bot is actually based on the real grandmother of an employee who worked on the project). Daisy answers calls and keeps fraudsters on the phone as long as possible not only to annoy and frustrate them, but to waste scammers’ time and resources, publicly expose their tricks, gather information for law enforcement and confuse the scammers' devices.   

According to an interview in Forbes magazine, "By tricking the criminals into thinking they were defrauding a real person and playing on scammers’ biases about older people, Daisy has prevented them from targeting real victims and, most importantly, has exposed the common tactics used so customers can better protect themselves.”  Read more here

See for yourself how ageist views are being twisted around to fight fraud and protect older adults.  

A new year is a time to take stock of what’s ahead and how far you’ve come.

Our Age-Friendly North Jersey alliance greets 2025 with a newly designed website, new community members, expanded partnerships at the regional and state level and new and encouraging signs of sustainable age-friendly progress.

Much of what we are looking forward to in 2025 – state grant dollars funding age-friendly work in communities, the launch of an effort to create a multi-sector plan on aging and a host of new community and county leaders joining the movement – is the result of a long list of accomplishments in 2024. So much so, it’s worth some reflection.

Strengthening of Our Regional Alliance

New Year’s 2024 started with the announcement of a significant change in the leadership of Age-Friendly North Jersey through the establishment of a new working relationship with New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well.

The enhanced partnership has yielded a new professionally designed website, agefriendlynj.org, which highlights the success of this now 9-year-old movement in northern New Jersey and compiles the resources our network uses to help educate about and advocate for the changes needed to make New Jersey more livable for everyone.

Continue reading here: A Year of AF Success

SHA Presents Virtual Lunch and Learn

on New Aging in Supportive Housing Guide

January 7, 2025, 12:00 - 1:00pm

Due to high demand, SHA has added another session introducing the Aging in Supportive Housing Guide:

SHA- NJ recently released its latest Aging in Supportive Housing Guide Hear about the partnerships, planning, and organizations behind these effective housing developments that provide affordable, accessible homes with support services tailored to the needs of a variety of populations. New supportive housing developments may help cities and towns fill affordable housing requirements.

Space is limited, registration is free and open to all. Register: here

Please only register for this if you have not registered for the December 17, 2024 session.

Medicare and Medicaid Move Upstream to Address

Social Determinants of Health

January 7, Noon - 1:30PM

Social determinants of health, like access to food, safe housing, and transportation, re critical drivers of individual and community health. Yet, these factors are often overlooked in healthcare delivery, leaving unmet needs that worsen disparities. 

This webinar will spotlight the transformative impact of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions, including a groundbreaking 2024 regulation requiring hospitals to screen patients for five key SDOH domains: food security, housing, transportation, utilities, and personal safety. Discover how this policy shift—and related CMS initiatives—are reshaping healthcare by integrating social services into medical care. 

For details and to register, click here

Police Partnerships

Many towns are expanding their community police efforts, and implementing or working with age-friendly initiatives is a perfect fit! Police partnerships can be part of broader efforts to create age-friendly communities, ensuring that older residents can live independently and safely. Join us to hear how Generations for Garfield has built a successful partnership between residents, the Garfield Police Dept. and the community. Also hear from West Orange about their outreach and efforts with older residents

Envisioning Equitable Assisted Living in NJ



Our conference, "Dare to Envision," included speakers Candace Robinson and Rebecca Lynn on the NJ's Assisted Living Providers Program (ALPs).

Mental Health and Older Adults 

NJ State Development & Redevelopment Plan Update

The New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan, or State Plan, is in the process of being updated. This process is overseen by the Office of Planning Advocacy (OPA) staff and the State Planning Commission (SPC). Over the past year, thousands of New Jersey residents weighed in with comments, concerns and suggestions.

The Preliminary State Plan is now available for review and can be accessed here:  Preliminary plan

For full details on the plan and to share comments and input, click here

NJAAW appreciates the recognition and attention the Preliminary Plan gives to New Jersey’s aging population, with suggestions on how to prepare for our changing state in terms of housing, equity and a special section titled "PLANNING FOR THE CHALLENGES OF AN AGING NEW JERSEY."