As we continue to call for New Jersey to adopt a Multisector plan for Aging, this year's conference will explore the intersection of aging with every sector of our lives. Whether housing, health care, employment or social engagement, an aging New Jersey impacts everyone.

Keynote speaker: Theresas Edelstein, and “Changing the Lens on Aging - It Begins With Us.” 

Lunch speakers: Amy Herr, Senior Director, Health Policy at West Health, and Erin Westphal, Director of Policy, Programs, and Operations at The SCAN Foundation

To see the list of confirmed breakout sessions and speakers, go to our conference webpage: AIES 2026

REGISTER HERE FOR EARLYBIRD DISCOUNT: Registration

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Click here: Sponsor

NJAAW Executive Director Meets with NJ Senator Andy Kim

It was an honor and a privilege to be invited to be Senator Andy Kim's guest at the State of the Union last Tuesday.

The Senator and I connected over our shared experience of having parents diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Aging is one of the few things we have in common - it is not political. And Alzheimer's does not care if you are in a red state or a blue state or who you voted for.

We are all impacted by aging and as we are living longer than ever before, the chances of us either being a caregiver or needing support increases. Medicare does not cover what we need to age well. It is just not enough. It's time to truly support caregiving in the US and give people the supports and resources they need, beyond a pat on the back and a thank you.

I want to thank Senator Kim and his staff for giving me the opportunity to speak up for New Jerseyans, and for their attention to the needs of an aging population.

See Andy Kim's press release, Calls for National Movement to Support Caregivers

by clicking here: PRESS RELEASE

Transition Team Reports Align with Call for an MPA

Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s transition teams released their final reports last week, laying out her administration’s policy goals in 10 subject matters. The reports highlight recommendations to lower costs, expand opportunity, and address the challenges facing residents.

As the transition teams publish their reports, we see a clear and strong alignment with Lifelong Strong NJ’s call for a Multisector Plan for Aging. With cost of living a top concern of older residents, the administration's focus on affordability and efficiency provides opportunities for changing how we look at aging in our state.

The Report of the Energy Affordability and Reliability Action Team and its analysis of the dire state of utility affordability hits at the heart of LLSNJ’s call for an MPA. For too many older New Jerseyans, the rising cost of simply keeping the lights on threatens their ability to remain in the communities they’ve spent a lifetime building. Utility affordability isn’t a niche economic concern. It touches health, safety, independence, and every commitment we make to ensure New Jerseyans can age with dignity. As Lifelong Strong NJ has emphasized, aging policy must be integrated across every sector, from housing to healthcare to essential services. And utilities sit at the center of that ecosystem.

Read on here: Keeping the Lights On

Multisector Plan for Aging: Collaborating to Improve Outcomes for New Jersey’s Older Adults, Respect

Welcome to All Teach, All Listen, Beyond the ECHO, examining public health challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, amplifying diverse voices, encouraging critical thinking, and promoting collaborative civic action across the healthcare system. For our fifth episode of the season, hosted by Sean Cuddihy, we shift focus to older adults in New Jersey with Dr. Joshua Raymond and Dr. Cathy Rowe discussing efforts to improve aging, care, and community supports.

They explore barriers like ageism, affordability, transportation, and housing, and highlight age‑friendly hospital initiatives, a new Medicaid palliative care benefit, workforce challenges, and the push for a multi‑sector plan for aging. Learn how communities, healthcare, business, and government can work together to enable aging well in New Jersey.

Listen here: PODCAST

An Age-Friendly New Jersey

Needs an Age-Friendly Economy

Making New Jersey an age-friendly state is not just the work of government. Businesses, employers, developers and others in the private sector must be invested in the goal of creating an age-friendly economy in which everyone can thrive.

Rooting out ageist hiring biases. Promoting the flexible and supportive work policies that workers of all ages need and want. Recruiting the vast numbers of direct-care workers our expanding care economy will require. Tackling New Jersey’s many affordability challenges to ensure the Garden State does not have an exodus of talent and experience to states with lower costs of living.

Those are some of the transformative changes required, and leaders of our Age-Friendly NJ alliance are heartened to finally see several signs of traction on those crucial goals.

Last summer, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well (NJAAW) was awarded one of the Department of Human Services’ age-friendly project grants to launch a yearlong campaign to recruit New Jersey businesses to become “Certified Age-Friendly Employers.”

In December, a coalition of advocacy groups celebrated the release of a new strategic plan to overcome shortages of certified nursing assistants and other front-line care workers.

And in January, newly sworn-in Governor Mikie Sherrill pledged to make affordability a chief priority of her administration, with her transition team laying out a final action plan that lists lowering housing costs and curbing rising energy costs among its chief goals. 

Continue reading: here

Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference

The Stockton Center on Successful Aging, in collaboration with Penn State, is hosting the 2nd Biennial Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference on June 3-5, 2026 in Atlantic City.

Download the flyer here: Flyer

Property Tax Relief Forms Mailed to NJ Residents

New Jersey households will receive paper versions of a new, combined application for property tax relief programs. Launched last year, the PAS-1 is a single application that allows seniors and disabled homeowners to seek benefits simultaneously through the state-funded Anchor, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ programs. The three-in-one application deadline is Nov. 2. For more information on each programs, go to: NJ Treasury

COPSA Virtual Support Groups

Concerned about someone with memory loss?

For 50 years, the COPSA Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders has been helping individuals, families and professionals who care for those with memory issues by providing compassionate care, support and education. 

To find out more about services, call 800-424-2494.

See the Virtual Support Group Schedule: COPSA

American Society on Aging's

Virtual Student Summit

Fridays in March:

March 6, 13, 20 and 27

1–2:30 PM ET

Students: Free

ASA is bringing students from across the country together for an exciting new Virtual Student Summit designed to spark careers in aging. Across 4 weeks, students will explore diverse career paths, build practical job search skills, and connect with peers and professionals who share their passion for making a difference.

Week 1: Exploring Careers in Aging

Week 2: Career Development and Job Search Skills

Week 3: Networking and Mentorship

Week 4: Student Showcase and Reflection

The Virtual Student Summit is FREE for students. All participants also will receive a certificate of completion to recognize their engagement and learning.

Learn more here: SUMMIT

Meet the Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All (GHNA) Initiative

February 18th , 2-3pm

What makes a community friendly for older New Jerseyans is what makes a community friendly for everyone! Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All (GHNA) is a statewide, pro-housing initiative tackling New Jersey’s housing and neighborhood challenges by examining the zoning and land use barriers standing in the way of progress. Organized around the concept that everyone in New Jersey deserves an affordable place to live - in a safe, vibrant community, GHNA includes advocates for smart growth and housing justice, for-profit and nonprofit developers, community development leaders, academics, local pro-housing campaign representatives, and land use planners.

Most older adults who live at home want to age in place, but they aren’t entirely confident they’ll get to

This Pew Research Center Report asked older adults who live in their own home what they’d want to do if they could no longer do so.

Most (60%) say they’d want to stay in their home and have someone care for them. Read on to learn more: PEW Report