Lifelong Strong New Jersey

Lifelong Strong New Jersey is an advocacy campaign to ensure all New Jerseyans can thrive in the Garden State as we age. 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 and adopt a Multisector Plan for Aging.

How is a Multisector Plan for Aging different from other aging programs? Find out in this article: State Multisector Plans for Aging Can Promote a More Coordinated "Ecosystem" for Older Adults

Visit our website, LifelongStrongNJ.org for news, updates, our blogs and to sign up for our newsletter.

Re-Establishing the

NJ Association of Senior Centers

NJAAW has received a grant from the Friends Foundation for the Aging to re-establish an association of senior centers in New Jersey! Now more than ever, we need to come together to share ideas, resources and advocate for our older residents. On June 18, we will have a virtual kickoff meeting. Please register to join us: NJASC event

Want to see what senior centers around the country are doing? Read this article from Next Avenue: here

From the LTCO:

Resident's Voice Challenge

Everyone has a story to tell.

Consumer Voice is gathering stories for the 2025 Resident’s Voice Challenge, a highlight of Residents’ Rights Month every October. To mark its 50th anniversary, it is creating a coffee table book of residents’ writings and artworks. Consumer Voice is seeking posters, paintings or drawings and essays or poems of 50 words or less that illustrate the theme Stand with Me. You may also submit audio and video recordings, long-form essays, or photos that can be featured on the Consumer Voice website, emails, and social media.

The deadline is Monday, June 30. Learn more about how to participate and submit materials at Residents Voice 2025

New Campaign Gets Candidates Focused on Aging Topics

Age-friendly progress requires buy-in from the highest levels of state government.

That’s why the organizations back-boning the Age-Friendly North Jersey alliance are also among the leaders of a new public relations campaign to make population aging a priority issue in the governor’s race.

“The age-friendly movement made some significant strides during the Murphy administration, especially during the past year,” said Dr. Cathy Rowe, executive director of New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well (NJAAW). “Under the current administration, New Jersey joined the AARP Age-Friendly Network of States and Communities, convened a task force that produced a forward-looking blueprint and earmarked funds for a pioneering grantmaking program that is helping new communities launch age-friendly initiatives.

“We want to make sure our next governor commits to building on those efforts,” said Rowe, whose organization helps administer AFNJ and a new initiative called Lifelong Strong New Jersey. Read on here: AFNJ Blog

Protecting Medicaid from Cuts in Congress: Updates for Aging Advocates

Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. via Zoom

With the House’s vote last month to pass a budget reconciliation bill, the fight to protect Medicaid has moved to the Senate. If enacted, H.R. 1 — the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — would be devastating for the health and well-being of low-income older adults. The legislation would make the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, while undermining Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and other programs older adults rely on to meet their basic needs.

This webinar, Protecting Medicaid from Cuts in Congress: Updates for Aging Advocates, will outline where the budget reconciliation bill stands and how the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and other health care programs would harm older adults. Participants will learn about the latest insights on effective advocacy strategies, data, and resources that advocates can use in their own states and communities.

For more background, see Justice in Aging’s Medicaid Resources Defense

To register, click here

Ripples of Impact

Leading Age NJ & DE

June 17-19

Our colleagues at LeadingAge New Jersey & Delaware are hosting their 2025 Annual Meeting + EXPO in less than one month — and it’s a must-attend event for aging services professionals. 



This conference features robust educational sessions and dynamic networking with leaders, innovators, and peers from across the region. If you’re looking to strengthen your skills, expand your network, and spark new ideas, this is the place to be.

Learn more and register: Here

Design Connections: Empowering Older Adults Against Loneliness Through Design Thinking

Wednesday, June 25, 11:00 a.m.

via Zoom

Join award-winning designer and author Ayse Birsel for a webinar on her studio's innovative Design Connections™ program.

Learn how design thinking addresses loneliness and social isolation among older adults by rebuilding social connections through co-design. This webinar is open to the community—it is for older adults, their families, and the professionals, advocates, and volunteers serving them. REGISTER NOW at www.njaaw.org/events/ to discover how co-design can improve well-being later in life.

See the full flyer by clicking flyer

Register Here

From our Partners at Goals of Care Coalition:

We are excited to launch "A Walk in the Woods: Updates on Palliative Medicine & End-of-Life Care," a truly unique, two-hour CME/CE experience featuring Dr. David Barile. This program offers credits across disciplines, including MDs, DOs, PAs, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers.

Let's face it—most continuing education programs, especially ones about difficult subjects like end-of-life care, can feel dry and predictable. But as we’ve discussed, this one is different because Dave steps out of the usual routine and into nature to share invaluable insights about caring for people with serious illness, improve shared decision-making, and explore innovations in palliative care and end-of-life care with national experts.

We need your help to spread the word about this new program! Please share the attached flyer widely within your networks and encourage your colleagues and friends to participate and earn their CME/CE credits in an engaging, inspiring new way.

More information and access to the program is available at: learn.goalsofcare.org

Report for the New Jersey State Policy Lab: Cost of Living for Older Adults in New Jersey

By Audrey Meng, Rutgers University

New Jersey residents are living longer, but not necessarily better. While New Jersey has expanded eligibility for programs designed to help older residents, people at every income level continue to report facing economic challenges to meet their needs.

In 2024, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well (NJAAW) conducted a statewide survey to gather insight from older adults related to the cost of living to comfortably age in place. The survey revealed that residents across the state face an eligibility cliff, forcing many to cover their own essential needs through high out-of-pocket costs.

Read the full blog: Here

2025 Snapshot: The Mismatch Between an Aging Population and the Homes and Neighborhoods They Need

New Jersey—along with many other parts of the country—is experiencing a housing shortage, driving up rents and home prices and prompting many households to leave the state in search of cheaper housing elsewhere. The state is also aging, with residents aged 65 and older comprising an increasing share of the total population. The two trends are converging in ways that should attract the concern of policy makers. A lack of aging-friendly housing options limits the number of places in New Jersey that older residents might call home as they seek to downsize.

See the report: Here