Age Friendly Pioneer Valley News

Making the Pioneer Valley a great place to live for people of all ages

September 17, 2021

Welcome to Our Newsletter!

With a grant from Tufts Health Plan Foundation, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is in the second year of helping communities in the PVPC region plan for an aging population. The process of becoming designated Age and Dementia Friendly Communities involves engagement of older adults, caregivers, and community stakeholders in identifying assets and challenges for healthy aging in the social and built environments using a variety of tools that have been developed by the AARP, Mass Healthy Aging Collaborative, Age Friendly Berkshires, and other organizations doing similar work.

During the first year of the program, PVPC worked with the City of Northampton and the Towns of Agawam, Belchertown and South Hadley to develop Community Assessments and Action Plans. These plans are in the final stages of review and approval for submission to AARP (for Age Friendly designation) and the Massachusetts Council on Aging for Dementia Friendly designation. PVPC started working with the Town of Ware in December of 2020 and with the Towns of Monson, Hadley and Amherst in July of 2021.

The Age Friendly Pioneer Valley Initiative also convenes community and regional partners quarterly to hear from experts and share best practices in the designation, assessment and implementation of strategies to make communities great places to live for people of all ages. Contact Becky Basch at bbasch@pvpc.org if you would like to be added to the email list for quarterly meetings.

Why be Age and Dementia Friendly?

Age and Dementia Friendly Livable Domains

It is estimated that by 2030, 1 out of every 5 people in the United States will be over the age of 65, and by 2035 the number of people over 65 will outnumber children under 18. With a rapidly aging population, it is important to ensure that the built and social environments in all of our communities support people of all ages and abilities.

We are working to better the lives of older adults through policies that create affordable housing, improve transportation options, build community participation, make healthcare services more accessible, and much more.

Learn more about Age and Dementia Friendly resources at MA Healthy Aging Collaborative website

Age and Dementia Friendly Communities in the Pioneer Valley

In the PVPC region (Hampden and Hampshire Counties), the following communities are part of the Age and/or Dementia Friendly Community Network:

Agawam, Belchertown, Northampton, South Hadley, and Ware are officially enrolled in AARP designated Age Friendly Communities and are working with PVPC to complete Community Assessments and Action Plans for dual designation as Age and Dementia Friendly Communities. The towns of Brimfield and Holland and the City of Chicopee have received initial designations as Age Friendly Communities.

The City of Springfield, West Springfield, and the Hilltowns (Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Plainfield, Westhampton, and Williamsburg) have submitted Community Assessments and Action Plans to become fully designated as Age Friendly.

Holland, Longmeadow, Springfield, and West Springfield have been designated as Dementia Friendly Communities.

All communities have committed to creating inclusive communities for residents of all ages and abilities to live healthy and productive lives.

The Age Friendly Process and Program Cycle Steps

Age Friendly Process and Program Cycle from AARP

Dementia Friendly Designation Process:

Create an Action Team; Identify a Leader or Co-Leaders
Engage with Residents
Develop an Action Plan and Begin Implementation
Be Recognized for your Commitment
Celebrate Progress and look for ways to Continue and Improve!

From Dementia Friendly America

Upcoming Events

2021 AARP Livable Communities Workshop- Engaging Older Adults: Why It's Good for the Community

September 22nd and 23rd

Participate in this free, two-day, online AARP Livable Communities workshop! This event will "showcase effective strategies, initiatives and programs that engage older adults and solve pressing community problems." Hear from individuals working across the country on how they are striving to make their communities livable for people of all ages. Click here to register or learn more.

AARP ReiMAgine Age and Dementia Friendly Summit

September 27th and 28th

This virtual two day summit is a meeting of age-friendly communities from across the commonwealth as they discuss building age-friendly coalitions, engaging local government leaders, creating intergenerational networks, reducing the digital divide, and more! The summit aims to "expand understanding of how municipalities across Massachusetts can make every community a great place to grow up and grow older together." Click here to register or learn more.

Age Friendly Pioneer Valley Quarterly Meeting

October 5th 1:00-3:00pm

Join representatives from cities and towns in the PVPC region for presentations on barriers to housing for older adults with criminal records (CORIs) and the issue of homelessness as it affects older adults. This meeting will be held on Zoom- please click here to register.

Age and Dementia Friendly News

Make Age Friendly Communities a Community Compact Best Practice

Cities and Towns are invited to apply for funding through an agreement with the Baker-Polito Administration to implement at least one best practice. Age and Dementia Friendly efforts are listed among the best practices communities may choose from. The City of Northampton recently received funding through this program to work with PVPC on a review of all of the City's policies and programs with an Age Friendly lens.

Information Technology is another Best Practice that many communities choose to help with planning and implementation of robust municipal IT programs.

The Best Practice program opened on August 15th, 2021 and will remain open until funding is exhausted.

For more information, click here

Age-Friendly Boston, Massachusetts, Responds to COVID-19

Check out how Boston's Age-Friendly network helped ensure older adults were able to access healthy food during COVID-19 by expanding existing partnerships and investing in new one's to fill in the gaps.