Tag Archives: age-friendly communities

New Resource: ‘Age- and Dementia Friendly Design Considerations for Physical Infrastructure’

September 28th, 2022

The Massachusetts Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease and All Other Dementias created a workgroup with a goal of defining age-and dementia friendly design considerations for physical infrastructure, disseminating those findings and advocating for their inclusion in relevant state funding programs.

That workgroup is pleased to share the culmination of that work in the form of a guide titled Age and Dementia Friendly Design Considerations for Physical Infrastructure, which highlights design considerations supporting people living with dementia and focused on four types of infrastructure: Continue reading →

RAISE Act Family Caregiving Council Announces 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

September 28th, 2022

The 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers was created to support family caregivers of all ages, from youth to grandparents, and regardless of where they live or what caregiving looks like for them and their loved ones.

The local strategies may be of interest to communities working to become more age and dementia friendly and also integrating caregiver support into their action plans. Continue reading →

Baker Administration Celebrates Five Years of Accomplishments of the Governor’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts

September 22nd, 2022

In honor of the five-year anniversary of the Governor’s Council to Address Aging, Governor Charlie Baker, Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders, and Secretary of Elder Affairs Elizabeth Chen joined Council Members and stakeholders at a celebratory meeting to reflect on the strides made to support healthy aging in Massachusetts.

Co-Chaired by Secretary Sudders and philanthropist Eileen Connors, the Governor’s Council to Address Aging was established via Executive Order in April 2017 with the goal of making the Commonwealth the most age-friendly state for people of all ages. Today’s final Council meeting under the Baker-Polito Administration was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Governor Baker first signed the Executive Order that launched the Council. Continue reading →

AARP Announces Resource on ‘Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing’

September 21st, 2022

Created by AARP Livable Communities and Opticos Design, Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing provides age- and dementia friendly communities, local leaders, building and planning professionals, and involved community members with information about what Missing Middle Housing is, where it still exists, and why it’s time for communities nationwide to return this versatile residence type to America’s housing portfolio. Continue reading →

AARP Livable Communities Team Requesting Experiences and Best Practices on Age-Friendly Communities in Mass.

September 14th, 2022

There is so much amazing work being done as part of the age- and dementia friendly movement in Massachusetts and AARP’s Livable Communities team is requesting that every network community (those recognized in the AARP age-friendly network) complete the Annual Survey of Age-Friendly Community Leaders to gain insight on those efforts (*Note: if your community is working together with other communities (regional approach), AARP only needs one response per region). Continue reading →

MHAC Contributes to Report ‘Care Work in Massachusetts: A Call for Racial and Economic Justice for a Neglected Sector’

September 7th, 2022

Care work has forever been critical to the health and basic functioning of our society. With the steady aging of our population, care jobs are also among the fastest growing in our economy. A new report from Boston indicators and SkillWorks with input from the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (MHAC) discusses trends, data and policy solutions around improving the quality and conditions of care work through an equity lens. Continue reading →

NORC Report: Many Middle-Income Seniors Will Not Be Able to Pay for Long-Term Care and Housing in 10 Years

August 31st, 2022

A new NORC analysis updating the groundbreaking “Forgotten Middle” study finds that there will be 16 million middle-income seniors in 2033, many of whom will struggle to pay for the health, personal care, and housing services that they need. For instance, excluding home equity, nearly three-quarters of middle-income seniors in 2033 will have insufficient financial resources to pay for assisted living, if they need and want it. Even with home equity, nearly 40% will not be able to afford assisted living. Continue reading →