How does where we live shape how we age? What aspects of a community help or hinder our ability to age well? The key to well-being in aging goes beyond supportive services for those in need, which is why LifePath, along with key partner Franklin Regional Council of Governments, and funders MA Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds and Point32 Health Plan Foundation, is leading the Age-Friendly movement here in Franklin County and the North Quabbin.
The Age-Friendly model, developed by the World Health Organization and AARP, says that the communities best suited to support people as they age are strong in eight domains: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Transportation, Housing, Social Participation, Civic Participation and Employment, Communication and Information, Community Support, and Health Services. The model allows each community to define specific changes that help residents age well. These changes can only succeed when organizations like LifePath, along with other community groups, businesses, and residents themselves, work together. Success means great news not only for older people, but for everyone.
One way that LifePath’s Age & Dementia Friendly Program supports these changes is by providing over $85,000 in funding to 30 community-led Age & Dementia Friendly projects to date. In this article, I’ll share a few examples of local residents creating the changes we need in order to become a wonderful place to age.
This looping trail, which winds through a towering grove of white pines and an observation deck overlooking a beautiful hidden pond, is designed to meet the United States Forest Service’s guidelines for accessibility.
Research has shown that getting outside and being physically active is important for quality of life as we age. However, mobility challenges can make this difficult. In response, several organizations in our area are creating universally accessible trails and adding benches in areas where people can walk. For example, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust has invested in a project called Benches For All, which aims to make some of its many public walking and hiking trails more accessible to people of all ages and abilities by adding age-friendly benches, which boast higher seats and strong arms for support in sitting and standing, along the route. This follows work to create the Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey S. Ames Accessible Nature Trail in Northfield a few years ago. This looping trail, which winds through a towering grove of white pines and an observation deck overlooking a beautiful hidden pond, is designed to meet the United States Forest Service’s guidelines for accessibility. Here people of all ages and abilities can immerse themselves in nature—not just older adults, but also children, families, and people with disabilities. Further to the west, in Rowe, age-friendly funds were used to purchase a beach wheelchair, opening a town lake to all. With an even lower-investment solution, a group of older adults in Colrain started a walking group and distributed a map of “safer” roads to walk on. By allowing people to more easily get outside and be active, these projects help residents of all abilities access the outdoors.
Another exciting area is progress around civic engagement for those living with hearing loss. Hearing loss is detrimental not just to the person, but to the whole community as it loses individuals’ perspectives and contributions; then potentially, if enough people are excluded, decisions are made that don’t reflect the viewpoints of older adults in general and may unintentionally make the community less supportive of the needs of aging people. The towns of Ashfield, Buckland, and Northfield have all invested in assistive hearing technology that helps people with hearing loss to continue to take part in meetings. This technology helps people hear better in noisy or large spaces by sending sound directly from a microphone to the listener’s hearing aid or earbuds with no background noise, reverberation, or static. Other towns have used closed captioning in Zoom meetings. In another example, the towns of Bernardston, Conway, Erving, and Leverett have passed senior tax work-off policies. These policies allow eligible senior citizens to volunteer for their local government in exchange for a reduction on their property tax bill. By doing all we can to help older people take part in civic life, more of our communities will benefit from their wisdom and ability.
The 2022 Age Friendly survey indicated older adults’ need for information. A lot has happened under the Communication and Information domain that will help fill this need. Residents of Leyden created a “Fact Book” of town information and resources that was mailed to all residents. Other towns have created or expanded newsletters. Additionally, many communities have expanded access to computers and tablets for older people. Greenfield Housing Authority used grant funding to provide computer access for older adult residents. South County Senior Center provided 140 tablets to residents along with training and support. LifePath can assist with finding devices for those in need, and the United Way provides free “digital navigator” one-on-one help to any resident. All these activities are helping residents be informed and have access to information and resources that will help them age well.
We are humbled and impressed by the ingenuity and commitment of all the individuals and organizations who have worked on projects in support of the Action Plan. LifePath can help by distributing grant funding and providing structure, encouragement, and technical help, but it’s the wider community that is working to help itself. For communities to age well now and in the future, we must widen our scope beyond providing services to individuals, to include examining the policies, systems, and environments that allow older adults to flourish. Just as important is ensuring that the perspectives of older adults and people with lived experience remain central to meeting our goals equitably. To accomplish this, LifePath regularly convenes a 20-member Age & Dementia Friendly Council. The guidance they and others provide is implemented through close collaboration with our key partner Franklin Regional Council of Governments to leverage the essential support provided by funders.
Have you heard about other projects that are helping make our communities more age-friendly? What are your ideas for making your town a better place to age? I’d love to hear from you or discuss how you can get involved in this exciting work. Please contact me, Lynne Feldman, at LFeldman@LifePathMA.org or 413-829-9221.
