The term “placemaking” refers to the work of improving a particular public space or overall area to make it more of a destination and shared gathering place.
The Pop-Up Placemaking Tool Kit was created by AARP and Team Better Block to inform a broad audience of local leaders, policymakers, advocates and neighborhood residents about the many ways temporary projects can inspire positive community change. Continue reading
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 Block helped to reimagine a stretch of Tyler Street in Pittsfield. Continue reading
The Massachusetts Census Equity Fund 2020 is a statewide funding initiative with the mission to increase participation in the 2020 census in communities that are at significant risk of being undercounted.
Through this statewide grant program, the aim is to support community based organizations to educate, organize and empower residents in hard-to-count communities to respond to the 2020 Census. The 2020 Census will face additional challenges and barriers reaching those in historically undercounted communities.
In celebration and recognition of Pride Month, The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative is pleased to share a resource from SAGE (Advocacy & Services for LGBT Elders) called the “Welcome to Pride” initiative. Continue reading
In preparation for Older Americans Month in May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has announced a theme that compliments the Age- and Dementia Friendly Movement. The 2019 theme is “Connect, Create, Contribute,” which encourages older adults and their communities to:
Bridges Together is announcing the opening of a call for entries for the 2018 Fran Pratt Award. This award is dedicated to individuals who are creating and maintaining opportunities for our older adults and young people to engage with each other in meaningful ways and foster a culture of age-integration. Continue reading
Many communities want to increase the number and nature of intergenerational initiatives, especially those making commitments to becoming more Age- and Dementia Friendly. Thanks to the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, Bridges Together is able to offer funding to communities wishing to partake in an opportunity to place older adults in school classrooms across the state. Continue reading
Janet Seckel-Cerrotti is the Executive Director of FriendshipWorks, where she has been helping to match volunteers with socially isolated elders for 30 years.
What is FriendshipWorks?
FriendshipWorks is a nonprofit dedicated to helping elders in the Boston and Brookline area who are isolated and in need of a helping hand, a person to talk to, a friend. With over 62,000 elders living in Boston, more than 22,000 are currently living alone. Social isolation and loneliness among elders can be debilitating both emotionally and physically. It’s a growing problem for today’s generation, but we have a simple solution. Continue reading
By Malka Young, LICSW, Director of Community Impacts, JFS of Metrowest
The last time I saw the doctor; I drove into Boston, went through a maze of dark parking levels, backed into a narrow parking space, and traversed long corridors. I rushed, only to fill out my personal information forms that I had completed on previous visits and wait. I marvel that individuals much older than me had to do this on their own before the Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Metrowest’s Patient Navigator Program started in late 2012. Continue reading
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