The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative encourages stakeholders and communities involved in the age- and dementia friendly movement to check out the following upcoming events:
This free, online workshop will bring together local leaders, housing practitioners, and AARP staff and volunteers to explore how communities nationwide can provide safe, affordable housing options for individuals and families of all backgrounds, incomes and abilities.
Through four core themes — Housing Choice, Design, Stability, and Equity – the workshop will share best practices, insights and inspiring next steps for meeting the housing needs of a changing nation.
Register and find more info here.
Caring for Those Who Care: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers is a training curriculum created by the Diverse Elders Coalition. This 90-minute Diverse Family Caregivers Overview training is designed for healthcare, social service and aging professionals who wants to better serve diverse family caregivers and older adults.
More information and registration is available here: https://bit.ly/DECOverviewTrainingSept21
Join the Massachusetts Task Force to End Loneliness and Build Community for a virtual summit to celebrate National Good Neighbor Day on September 28 at 10-12. The theme is “Shift Happens,” looking beyond the pandemic to address social isolation and forge friendships across Massachusetts. You’ll hear from the keynote speaker, Marc Freedman, Founder & Co-CEO of Encore.org, on the importance of “embracing shift” as we move toward a co-generational approach to healthy aging and problem-solving in the community. You’ll also learn from Senator Patricia Jehlen about the state’s commitment to this issue, have the opportunity to engage with Taskforce leaders and fellow Massachusetts residents of all ages, and come away with tangible ideas to take action in your neighborhood!
Learn more and register at www.endlonelinessma.com/summit
- Housing and Health Equity for Older Adults: Findings From the COVID-19 RECAPP Report (Oct. 6, 11 am)
In addition to its devastating effects on health and mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic produced a complex and interconnected set of social challenges across the US. Older adults living in the community faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and other goods and services during stay-at-home orders. In response, organizations that support older people—housing and service providers, community organizations, government agencies, and others—improvised solutions to address these challenges.
JCHS new report, a collaborative project with The Hastings Center, reflects on these responses, most of which were intended to be temporary, and sheds light on how we might improve housing and supports for older adults, and address longstanding inequities in the process.
Dementia affects every community, but not in the same way. Join us for a conversation about discrimination and disparities, different needs, and specific strengths in many cultural and linguistic communities. How do we encourage open communication and support those willing to share their own story of living with dementia or caring for someone who does? Gain a new lens to see through as we work to raise awareness about dementia in all of our communities. And, learn how one initiative – Dementia Friends Massachusetts – is on the road to represent and serve all of Massachusetts, through its collaboration with individuals and organizations who know their community.