Aging in Place

Two major programs and partnerships in the Chattanooga Region were each awarded a "JumpStart the Conversation" grant in September 2009. The winning projects exemplify the use of innovative ideas focused on creating livable communities for all ages and the theme of Building Partnerships. Click here to view the grants below. 

 

 

As part of the national movement to promote the “Aging in Place” Initiative, which is aimed at helping older Americans remain in their communities, the Chattanooga Metro Area has been selected to host one in a series of national workshops to consider creating livable communities for all ages.  These workshops are being sponsored by MetLife Foundation, Partners for Livable Communities (Partners), and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a).

The Chattanooga workshop, titled Building Partnerships: Creating a Livable Community for All Ages (Choose Chattanooga: Come Live with Us),  was held on 30, 2009.  The event was be co-hosted by the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability, Choose Chattanooga, the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Morning Pointe, the Greater Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, and the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce.

Steve Witt, Director of the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability, stated that “Community leaders have already seen enormous goals met that contribute to Chattanooga being a place that appeals to people of all ages.  It is exciting to be part of an initiative that can help us continue to move forward.”

Chattanooga Jumpstart Grants 

• Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga and Active Living and Transportation Network
  To explore new partnerships within the senior community and be able to expand programming to better reach the older adult demographic and promote active transportation through bicycling. Two workshops will be held for active seniors and related agencies to develop opportunities to promote the safe use of bicycling for transportation and recreation, especially in the urban core area. 
• Get Online Event: A community-wide, multi-generational interactive opportunity
  The following organizations will be working together for the first time ever through a brand new partnership formed to improve community-wide communication and civic involvement by teaching basic, practical computer skills at the “Get OnLine” Event. This “learning event” will be a community-wide, multi-generational interactive opportunity. Continued partner efforts will help members adapt to what older adult learners want and need to know to thrive in a livable community, as well as how to engage additional partners to further collaborative efforts.
• "Choose Chattanooga" and The Chattanooga Health and Performance Institute
  To coordinate marketing, promotion and continued collaboration among partners for the “Get OnLine” event which will improve communication between service providers and the citizens they serve, with a special emphasis on the older adult citizens.
• Friends of the Library
  To host several computer technology training events at area branches using existing computers with internet access and to educate technically illiterate and disenfranchised older adult members of the community. 
• Senior Neighbors
  To host several computer technology training events at area senior centers using existing computers with internet access.  Senior Neighbors is the area’s largest outreach organization reaching senior citizens in often underserved locations across Hamilton County. Recently added new computers and internet access, but instruction resources are limited and services are underutilized. Through partnership support — Senior Neighbors’ will reach a larger portion of the older demographic. 
• Alton Park Development Corporation
  To host older adult computer classes at Alton Park area community centers, one of Chattanooga’s most economically distressed and impoverished areas.  
• Southeast Development Foundation 
  To coordinate and establish a mature workers job club and provide technology and computer training to members of that community as more people in this age group struggle to gain the latest job skills to find second careers in their later years. 
• City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture
  To provide computer training to senior citizens through workshops, instruction and access to computers and internet at the Senior Activity Center, located at Eastgate Town Center. Due to underfunding there is currently a waiting list of more than 300 Senior Citizens waiting to learn basic computer skills. They are currently not being served at all because there are no instructors to meet the demand. Grant monies will fund instruction otherwise unavailable.
• City of Chattanooga Department of Parks and Recreation
  To provide computer training to disenfranchised citizens through workshops, instruction and access to computers and internet at the Brainerd Recreation Center. Computers and internet access was recently installed at the rec centers—however these new services are not utilized because of a lack of education and available training. This event will allow them to reach the older adult population served by this rec-center.
• Chattanooga State Technical Community College
  To host classes at its campus and provide school trained instructors and educational materials. Classes will be available to older adult members of the public who would otherwise be unable to afford such instruction.
• Association of Visual Arts
  To serve as a centrally located learning facility and resource center for digital content development and creative self expression and to offer technology and photography training classes at the Chattanooga media center to older adults who would be otherwise unable to afford such instruction. AVA will target lifelong learners who seek customized training instruction for their careers or personal development.  

Fourteen organizations and partnerships in the Wichita Region were each awarded a "JumpStart the Conversation" grant in August 2009. The winning projects exemplify the use of innovative ideas focused on creating livable communities for all ages and the theme of "Revitalizing Communities for All Generations."

As part of the Aging in Place Initiative, the Wichita Region was selected by MetLife Foundation, Partners for Livable Communities and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging to host one of a series of dynamic national workshops highlighting the opportunity to improve livability for persons of all ages. The workshop, titled Revitalizing Communities for All Generations:  Visioning a Livable Wichita Region, was held on June 23, 2009.  

Revitalizing Communities for All Generations gathered key innovators and representatives from across the region to discuss a topic of great importance to Wichita. Workshop speakers and panelists focused their discussion on key areas for Community Housing, Intergenerational Opportunities, and Neighborhood Planning. In particular, participants considered elements that contribute to the Wichita Visioneering process. 

Wichita Jumpstart Grants 

• Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To develop and implement a south central Kansas media initiative which will include:  an informational sheet on important statistics related to older adults and livable communities that can be used to educate, a half-hour infomercial on livable communities that can be shown on area government channels and production of timely articles on livable communities that can be inserted into newsletters, regional newsletters or posted on partner websites.
• Via Christi Senior Services in partnership with Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To formulate an innovative series of four, focused informational programs designed to raise awareness and start discussions that will help all “age in place” in Wichita. 
• Senior Services, Inc. and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To produce a research paper of best practices for intergenerational programming at senior centers. The paper will include working models and evidence based programs from across the country on how to facilitate community collaboration, promote an appreciation for heritage, traditions and history, apply the strength of one generation to meet the needs of another, and increase community awareness about issues that affect both populations. The findings of the paper will be presented at a statewide senior center conference.
• Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To recruit and train people 55 years and better in advocacy skills.  Trained advocates will be able to more effectively communicate to elected officials, planners and board members about issues that are important to livable communities and aging in place.
• Paratransit Council, Inc. in partnership with 17 other members
  To establish a program that will expand awareness of transportation resources and promote the use of those resources in the tri-county areas of Harvey, Butler, and Sedgwick, Kansas.  An informational pamphlet will be produced as part of this outreach campaign.
• Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To continue the conversation about Aging in Place and Livable Communities by highlighting current efforts that are meeting with success in cities in the metropolitan statistical area. A half day, best practices symposium will feature presenters with innovative housing options, successful walkability efforts, award winning intergenerational programs and issues related to community development, i.e. downtown revitalization, parks, recreation and open spaces.
• Historic Midtown Citizen’s Association (HMCA), USD 259 and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To introduce seniors to volunteer opportunities at area schools and the school children to the rich opportunities that knowing older adults can provide.
• Wichita Independent Neighborhoods, Inc. in partnership with Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To develop a transportation plan for seniors that would utilize existing transportation providers, provide activity calendars, and develop a membership program to bring the program to completion.
• Senior Services, Inc. in partnership with the Wichita City Council and Active Aging Publishing, Inc.
  To provide education and forums for seniors to gain valuable knowledge and dialogue about what their needs are for a livable community. Through a series of forums and community planning sessions, seniors will be given the opportunity to express their needs for transportation in the community. As a follow-up to the meetings, a simple transportation brochure will be distributed to organizations that provide services to seniors written in English, Spanish, and possibly Vietnamese.
• Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To plan, plant and harvest a new community garden at the Southeast Senior Center near the Planeview Area – a low-income neighborhood in the City of Wichita. Funding will be used to develop a tool kit to get the garden started, purchase planting materials and supplies, soil tests, garden tools and to educate the community on the benefits of gardening.
• Wichita Homebound Outreach (WHO) in partnership with Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To recruit additional volunteers and create an intergenerational component for a local outreach organization that creates building relationships and socialization activities between neighbors in low-income congregate housing facilities. Educational materials would be created to distribute to churches and organizations in order to recruit volunteers. 
• Park City Pride Committee, Inc.
  To design and distribute a community survey to help establish criteria on future community oriented goals and public buildings.
• Asbury Park, Inc.
  To conduct focus groups with individuals aged 55-70 on what type of housing they want through the next years of their lives and educate them on universal design concepts.
• Visioneering Older Adult Alliance and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging
  To conceive and produce a 30 minute DVD to inform viewers of the concepts of Livable Communities for All Ages and Universal Design that can be aired on city television stations and utilized by citizen groups, and staff members in trainings, presentations and discussions.

"Livable Communities for All Ages" is a thoughtful brochure that reflects years of expertise and findings, as well as resources and case studies, on how all facets of the community can contribute to a more “older adult –friendly” environment. Download here

With the goal of promoting safer and affordable communities, "Livable Communities for All Ages" features a specific guide on which aspects of civic life—whether the local Chamber of Commerce or an individual— can respond to the maturing of America with instructive measures on the benefits of older adult livability adaptations in four areas:

Since 1989, Partners has been at the forefront of creating communities that are hospitable for all people, young and old alike. Now, with nearly 22 years passed since Partners laid the initial groundwork for the Aging in Place strategy, the MetLife Foundation has stepped in to help Partners continue the conversation and advance the agenda of livability regardless of age.

On September 22, 2010 Partners released "Livable Communities for All Ages", a thoughtful brochure that reflects years of expertise and findings, as well as resources and case studies, on how all facets of the community can contribute to a more “older adult –friendly” environment.

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Eighty million members of the boomer generation (born between 1946–1964) have reached or are approaching the traditional retirement age of 65. These boomers overwhelmingly want to age in place. Yet few communities are prepared to meet the needs of older residents, or to engage these residents in civic life.

In response, the Center for Civic Partnerships created Aging Well in Communities: A Toolkit for Planning, Engagement & Action.