STORIES FROM THE FIELD
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Tiny Home ‘Village’ for Homeless Older Adults Breaks Ground in Worcester
The Seeds of Hope Tiny Home Village is a four-unit development in Worcester designed to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless seniors on fixed incomes. The project was reported by several news outlets, including the Worcester Guardian, Telegram &...
State Budget Provides $100,000 via LifePath for Local Village Organizations Across Franklin County, the North Quabbin, and Hampshire County
Following successful legislative advocacy by State Senator Jo Comerford and State Senator John Velis, an earmark in Governor Maura Healey’s FY26 state budget enabled LifePath to award $100,000 to 10 local Village organizations. Each organization received $10,000 to...
Somerville Snow Shoveling Program, an Example for Age-Friendly Communities, Featured in Boston Globe
A program that matches older adults and people living with disabilities with teens interested in earning money for snow shoveling after storms was featured in a recent editorial by the Boston Globe. According to the article, there are roughly 30 teens that completed...
Reforming policies to eliminate some housing barriers
One man’s story of discrimination as he reentered community after serving his time. A report from the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts shows that older adults with a criminal record are at low risk for committing a crime, yet at high risk for...
AARP Offers Examples To Spark Ideas and Applications to Community Challenge Grant Program
The 2020 AARP Community Challenge Grant opportunity is open and plenty of examples are being shared as part of the push to solicit applications that help cities and towns become more age-friendly. In their latest newsletter, the AARP Livable Communities Team released...
Pittsfield Placemaking Project Highlighted by AARP
In their recent newsletter, AARP Livable Communities focused on cities that are "activating" their alleyways into vibrant community spaces that turn into more than a pass-through or a place people avoid. In 2017, the community planning and design firm Team Better...
AARP Newsletter on Shared Community Spaces Highlights Swampscott Best Practice
In their recent newsletter, AARP Livable Communities shared a number of examples of cities and towns that co-located facilities to save costs and encourage inter-generational activity. Among the examples is a co-located high school and senior center in the town of...
AARP Wins Award for Video Celebrating Men as Family Caregivers
AARP recently won a prominent “Sharecare Award” for its video spotlighting men as family caregivers, raising attention to an often hidden but vitally important group of people. Co-produced with AARP Studios, the 3-minute video offers an inside look at a gathering of...
Boston Front and Center in Latest AARP Newsletter
The latest AARP Livable Communities Newsletter has a headline feature titled "Boston Is Putting Driverless Cars Through an Age-Friendly Road Test." The article is focused on the public-private partnership that is setting an example for other cities to follow when it...
‘Giving Voice’ Initiative Helps Choirs Include People Living with Dementia
Thanks to The Giving Voice Initiative, communities seeking to become Age- and Dementia Friendly have another way to be inclusive. The organization provides a free toolkit to help communities establish choirs that actively recruit participants living with memory loss...