The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (MDTC) is recognizing Lifeline Awareness Week by sharing important information about two federal benefit programs that are available to help keep households connected to affordable telecommunications services—the Lifeline Program and the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Access/Equity/Inclusion
New Census Bureau Tool Launched to Help Measure Community Resilience to Disasters
Released last year as an experimental data product, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) garnered so much interest among public and government agencies that the Census Bureau decided to offer it regularly — with tweaks based on user feedback — to help decision-makers plan how to best serve their community.
The Census Bureau defines “community resilience” as the capacity of individuals and households to absorb, endure, and recover from the health, social, and economic impacts of a disaster such as a hurricane or pandemic. Continue reading
Transportation Needs of Diverse Older Adults Highlighted through NADTC Survey
As part of continuing efforts to identify transportation access, usage and disparities that impact diverse groups, the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) launched a national equity, diversity and inclusion transportation survey.
The survey gauged opinions and obtain information from a representative sample of racially, ethnically and culturally diverse older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers about their experiences accessing and using local transportation options in the United States. Continue reading
Age-Friendly Funding Alert: Mass in Motion, AARP Foundation, Mass Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative is pleased to promote the following funding opportunities that can support inclusive age-and dementia friendly community efforts. Continue reading
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll Reviews Five Years of Progress with ‘Salem for All Ages”
In a recent editorial in the Salem News, Mayor Kim Driscoll marked the five year anniversary of Salem’s age-friendly action plan as well as the creation of the “Salem for All Ages” initiative. Mayor Driscoll proudly marked off a list of notable accomplishments that serve as examples to other age-and dementia friendly efforts. Continue reading
CDC launches COVID-19 Resources for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). To address them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a COVID-19 toolkit with communication resources explaining in plain language how people with IDD and caregivers can protect themselves from the virus. Continue reading
Resources for Advocates Serving Older Immigrants Shared by National Center on Law & Elder Rights
In light of the arrival of new immigrants from Afghanistan, the National Center on Law & Elder Rights (NCLER) has collected and shared resources for advocates to help deliver trauma-informed services and better understand eligibility issues, available services, and asserting language access rights. Continue reading
SAMHSA Offers Supports to Veterans, Service Members, and Caregivers
For age-friendly communities working to support local older veterans or work with community-based veterans’ agents, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is highlighting a need for attention to service members, Veterans, military-connected families, and caregivers who may be feeling a wide range of emotions as the tragic events unfold in the fall of Afghanistan. Continue reading
Yale Study Finds ZIP Code is Tied to How Long Older Adults Remain Active
The age-friendly movement is already based largely around improving social determinants of health, but a recent Yale study provides more incentive for such changes. The study finds that a person’s ZIP code can also help predict how long older adults remain active. Continue reading
Housing Navigator Massachusetts Announces the Launch of its Statewide Innovative Affordable Housing Search Tool
Cambridge-based, tech nonprofit Housing Navigator Massachusetts, Inc. [HNMI] announced the launch of its affordable housing search tool today, the first website search tool of its kind to be offered in the state. The effort is a public private partnership announced in the fall of 2019, benefitting from the support of the state’s affordable housing funders, property owners, and housing advocates. Continue reading