Agencies
Services
Milestone 3: Learn More About Age-Friendly Initiatives
Dig in, do some research, and better understand what age-friendly work is already underway in your community. This may help generate ideas, and/or identify resources to help you get started. Some existing municipal plans (e.g., parks and recreation, county health, transportation) may include initiatives to related to aging and may be worth reviewing. Consider using AI to summarize the age-friendly work happening in your priority area or to aggregate information about local efforts.
As you conduct your research think about:
- What (if any) age-friendly work is already underway in your community?
- Are there any age-friendly programs or models that you’ve found inspiring?
- Are there any on-going age-friendly efforts in your community that you could join or recruit to your efforts?
There’s a lot of guidance out there! Here are some places to start:
- Local Area Agency on Aging Three-Year Plans
- Age-Friendly Communities
- Age-Friendly Transportation Efforts Across the US
- Age-Friendly Health Systems
- Age-Friendly Universities
- Dementia Friendly Communities
- Rural Age-Friendly Models
- Rural Health Information Hub: Rural Aging in Place Toolkit:
- Rural Health Information Hub: Community Supports for Rural Aging in Place and Independent Living:
- University of Wisconsin: Healthy Aging in Rural Towns (HeART) Toolkit
- Healthy Aging Coalition
- Tivity Health Aging Well in Rural America
- Age-Friendly Rural and Remote Communities: A Guide
- Grantmakers in Aging: Rural Aging Initiative
- Rural Health Information Hub: Rural Aging in Place Toolkit:
Guidepost: There are lots of models available to adapt – no need to reinvent the wheel. These models may have existing communities and other kinds of support available as well.
From the Field
North Lawndale – a neighborhood in Chicago whose population is majority African American and over the age of 55 – does not have a grocery store or supermarket. In 2021, a local organization, Jesus Word Center, was awarded the AARP Community Challenge Grant to combat food insecurity in the community. To do so, the Jesus Word Center converted a vacant lot into a community garden and purchased gardening tools, compost and vegetable seeds for local volunteers, most of whom are older adults. In addition to providing fresh food and volunteering and connection opportunities for North Lawndale’s constituents, the Jesus Word Center also offered health and wellness workshops onsite.
