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NJAAW News and Resources
April 2, 2025
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NJAAW's 27th Annual Conference:
The Faces of Aging
Friday, May 16, 9am - 3pm
New Brunswick
We are excited to announce our breakout sessions for this year's conference:
- Fraud and Scams Targeting Older Adults.
- Empowering the Older Adult: A Path to Holistic Well-Being Through a Mental Health Lense
- Enhancing Law Enforcement Engagement with Older Adults: A Collaborative Policing Approach
- Face Value: Appreciating Differences Across Generations
- The Face of Food Insecurity
- Supporting Older Adults with Hearing Loss: Enhancing Care Awareness, Language Access, and Technology
- Aging Alone: Addressing the Needs and Challenges of Solo Agers in New Jersey
- Palliative Care and Caring for Seniors with Chronic Complex Conditions: A Game-Changer for Living Well and Aging in Place
- Approaches to Understanding Loss with Older Adults
- Intergenerational Partnerships
Once again, we will start the conference which virtual presentation the day before. This year’s virtual presenter will be Raymond Jetson, Founder of Aging While Black. All registrants will be sent a link to join the virtual presentation live as well as the recording post-conference.
For more information and to register, visit the conference website, which we will be continuously updating with speaker information, details, and the schedule for the day: Faces of Aging
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Click here: sponsor opportunities or email ASullivan@njaaw.org
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What’s New This Year?
We are expanding our continuing education offerings!
- Social work CEs will be provided by Stockton University.
- For physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, we will be offering CEs through i3 Health.
Please indicate your interest while registering or e-mail us at office@NJAAW.org
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Introducing Lifelong Strong New Jersey
Lifelong Strong New Jersey is an advocacy campaign to ensure New Jerseyans can thrive in the Garden State as we age. Organized by leaders in the diverse field of aging, we aim to prioritize aging in this year's gubernatorial race by highlighting the needs and impact of an aging NJ. Why Lifelong Strong? Because aging is one of the few things we all have in common.
Like all age groups, older New Jerseyans are important contributors to the state’s economy, infrastructure, and communities. As demographics rapidly change, we ask that the next Governor recognize our increasingly older population and include aging as an important consideration in all policy discussions, so that New Jersey can become an even better place to age well.
Visit our website, LifelongStrongNJ.org for news, updates, our blogs and to sign up for our newsletter.
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NJAAW Receives DHS Age-Friendly Grant for Certified Age Friendly Employers Program
We are thrilled to announce that we have received one of the NJ DHS Age Friendly Project Grants to introduce and expand the Certified Age Friendly Employer (CAFE) program in New Jersey. See below for details on the grant program.
Working with our partners at the Age-Friendly Institute, we will recruit New Jersey businesses and employers to form a cohort for the CAFE Program and bring them through the certification process to serve as models for age-friendly practices in the state.
If you are interested in joining the cohort, please email crowe@njaaw.org by April 15, 2025
| | | Seeking Participants for Alzheimer's, Walking/Balance and Brain Health Studies | | | We are excited to see 3 studies on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) currently underway in New Jersey. Please share this information with your networks to help forward the research on Alzheimer's and find participants in these important studies. | | | |
Michal Schnaider Beeri, PhD, is leading a study on NJ residents age 45-70, of South Asian or Middle Eastern/North African origins, who have a parent with ADRD.
To download and share the flyer with details for the study, click here: SAMENA Study Flyer
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Kessler is seeking participants for a study assessing the effectiveness of combining thinking tasks with walking
training to improve walking and balancing ability in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
Click here for flyer: Kessler
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Stockton University's EEG lab is looking for participants for a study on personality and brain health.
Click here to see Stockton
| | Age-Friendly Movement in NJ | |
NJ Department of Human Services
Announces Age-Friendly Grants
NJ Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman has announced that $2.2 million in grants have been awarded to develop age-friendly initiatives and implement recommendations from the New Jersey Age-Friendly Blueprint to support the health and well-being of older New Jerseyans.
The Age-Friendly Blueprint, released last May, outlines age-friendly strategies and best practices to make New Jersey a place where people can live healthy lives, achieve financial security, be treated with respect, and have the ability to remain in their homes and fully engaged in their communities as they age. In Round 1 of grants, a total of 27 grants were given for age-friendly communities and projects.
Read the press release here: AF Grants
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Teaching about Transportation Options is Vital to Age-Friendly Work
Giving up driving in a car-centric state like New Jersey is a tricky undertaking – and not just for older adults surrendering the keys - but also for the family caregivers, aging services providers and local officials trying to steer them to alternatives.
“People often search for a single solution to their travel needs, but instead, a combination of transportation options might be needed to fully meet someone’s needs,” said Andrea Lubin, managing director of the New Jersey Travel Independence Program (NJTIP @ Rutgers). Education is important because the professionals and community leaders who work with older adults might be so accustomed to driving that they also don’t know the ins and outs of transit systems or other options, Lubin said.
NJTIP @ Rutgers is partnering with Age-Friendly North Jersey (AFNJ) on an April 3 transportation symposium intended to increase awareness of the resources that could help older adults make safer driving choices or learn how to use transit systems, community transportation, ride services or other options.
To read this and past AFNJ blogs, click here: AFNJ Blogs
For information and to register, for the symposium on April 3, click here: Travel Symposium
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Aging Equity and Diversity as Part of
Age-Friendly Community Practice in the United States
By Emily Greenfield, PhD, Clara J. Scher, PhD, Natalie E. Pope, MBA, MSSW & Uri Amir Koren
Despite calls for promoting equity and recognizing diversity within age-friendly community (AFC) efforts, there has been little research on how leaders attend to such considerations in practice. We iteratively coded data from qualitative interviews with leaders of eight AFC initiatives in New Jersey (United States [U.S.]) conducted across multiple years. Five themes were identified regarding areas in which considerations of aging equity and diversity emerged: communications to the public; outreach and advocacy; engagement structures; events and programming; and direct services. We discuss implications for cross-disciplinary research, policy, and practice to advance AFC initiatives in the U.S. and other similar contexts.
Red the full report here: Aging Equity and Diversity as Part of AFC Practice
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AFNJ Travel Symposium
Thursday, April 3
9:30-noon
Location: Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest
901 Route 10, Whippany
Join us for an exciting in-person event with NJTIP@ Rutgers!
This free symposium will include several transportation presenters, including NJTTIP @ Rutgers, EZ Ride, AAA Car Fit and NJ Transit.
Meet and talk to transportation providers that can help bring more transportation options to North Jersey communities.
This event is open to all working to expand transportation options for older adults. We encourage you to extend an invitation to your town's key transportation personnel, senior advisory committees, & others who can benefit from learning more about older adult mobility options and opportunities in Northern NJ.
To register, click here: Registration
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Registration Opens for
Summer 2025 Classes
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
The team at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers University is ready for spring and summer classes!
Spring classes are still available for April. Summer online, in-person and hybrid classes start May 27.
To see the upcoming classes and the new catalog, click here: OLLI-RU classes
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Access and Safety with
Assisted Listening Devices
Virtual
April 22, 2025 - Noon
Staying connected and safe is essential for everyone, and innovative assistive technology is making it easier for individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind to navigate daily life. From assistive listening devices (ALDs) that amplify and clarify sound in noisy environments to visual and tactile alert systems for fire alarms, doorbells, and emergency notifications, these solutions enhance accessibility and independence. Wireless hearing loops, and vibrating alert systems. These tools ensure that communication and safety are never compromised. Explore how these cutting-edge technologies are breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity!
Register: here
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Older Americans Month Kickoff Event
May 1, 10-11:30am
Join the Rutgers Hub for Aging Collaboration and New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well for an event highlighting the age-friendly communities movement in New Jersey. This event will include insights from leading age-friendly champions in the state reflecting on the foundations and exciting new developments for progress in the Garden State.
To register, click here: Registration
This event is being held in celebration of Older Americans Month 2025 to "Flip the Script on Aging." For more information, visit: ACL website
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NJ Sharing Network
An interview with Kelly Bonventre
Every day, the generosity of New Jersey donors and their families touch the lives of thousands of people in need. Yet, many New Jerseyans are either unaware of or do not understand organ and tissue donation.
Join us as Kelly Bonventre, Assistant Director of Community Service an NJ Sharing Network, explains the gift of donating, and the support her organization gives to families sharing the gift of life.
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'Grandpas United' Creates Volunteer Opportunities
for the Benefit of Young and Old
NPR: Morning Edition, March 12, 2025
Older men get a surprisingly large benefit from volunteering opportunities that they find meaningful. "Grandpas United" brings them into schools for life lessons that benefit both generations:
Transcript:
Life after retirement can be isolating for a lot of people, particularly older men. But it turns out that making a difference to someone else's life can give older guys a big boost. Here's Ashley Milne-Tyte.
ASHLEY MILNE-TYTE: When Jim Isenberg of White Plains, New York, first became a grandfather, he wanted to meet other men at the same stage of life and do things together. So he went online.
JIM ISENBERG: Trying to find any kind of organization with grandpas. There were a lot of things with grandmas, which we always say, God love grandmas.
MILNE-TYTE: But nothing for grandfathers. Ultimately, Jim and his friend Frank Williams founded their own group. They called it Grandpas United.
Listen to the full interview: here
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April 2025 AFPHS Training
April 17, 3pm
During emergencies and disasters, the public health system plays a crucial role in the protection of people and communities. Trust for America’s Health’s annual "Ready or Not" report measures states’ preparedness to respond to a spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services based on nine key indicators and gives federal and state policymakers actionable data to improve emergency readiness.
The April AFPHS training provides an overview of the 2025 Ready or Not report and provide examples of state and local preparedness strategies that align with the AFPHS 6Cs Framework.
To register, click here: AFPHS Training
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Designing Pedestrian-Friendly Spaces to Enhance Health and Accessibility for New Jersey’s Aging Population
View NJ Future's new report by Bethany Villa, "Designing Pedestrian-Friendly Spaces to Enhance Health and Accessibility for New Jersey’s Aging Population." This report gives a series of recommendations for improving New Jersey’s built environment to better support our aging population. Recommendations draw inspiration from successful projects like pedestrian improvement projects and increased transportation options for older adults.
See the report here: Report
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What Are We Reading?
"Longevity Hubs", MIT Press
As conversations on adopting a Multisector Plan on Aging (MPA) in New Jersy continue to expand, this book by editors Coughlin and Yoquinto is essential to understanding the economic influence of older adults.
Bringing together voices from multiple fields - researchers, entrepreneurs, public servants, business leaders, designers - this collection addresses the multi-faceted concerns of aging societies.
Available through MIT Press
| | | Is our information useful to you? Then please consider a financial contribution today. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well relies on foundation grants and other donations to fund our work. We welcome your support, your suggestions and your input for advocating for NJ's oldest residents as we celebrate our 25th anniversary and strategize for the next 25 years. | | | | |
