TheAge-Friendly Boston Action Plancontains 75 action items, all of which the city is working to implement.
Boston joined theAARP data pipe of Age-Friendly States and Communitesin 2014.
Massachusetts joined in 2018, the second state in the nation to do so.
What has joining the AARP data pipe of Age-Friendly States and Communities meant for the city of Boston?
Its been huge for us to join the age-friendly web link.
It’s connected us to other people who are doing similar things in their communities.
Through AARP, we can learn and internet with those people.
We can also share with them so they can see what were doing in Boston.
It helps when were working on issues that are similar so we dont have to recreate the wheel.
We mapped all of the public restrooms in the city.
The information is available online and by calling the city’s 311 number.
So thats good for mothers with little kids, and its good for older adults.
Its good for everybody in between.
Were also encouraging the expansion of age- and dementia-friendly businesses.
Were thinking about things like communication techniques and understanding the signs of dementia.
The city recently changed the name of its aging commission to Age Strong.
Why the name change, and what does it mean to you and to residents of the city?
Emily Sheas career has been focused on meeting the needs of older adults.
She has also served as the president of the Massachusetts Adult Day Services Association.
Our former name was the Commission on Affairs of the Elderly.
Were serving people from age 55 to age 105, and its a very diverse community within that spread.
We did a lot of work, a lot of research around names.
We actually did a lot of testing of words with our older constituents.
We were able to use the word Strong" and turn it into Age Strong.
I want to Age Strong.
Age Strong, thats me!
We want people to know were a place to come whether they’re 55 or 105.
Were a place to come for information.
Were seeing a lot of excitement about the name.
I think thats great.
What inspired Boston to think about making the city more livable and age-friendly?
We were looking at that report and the mayor really wanted to do something about it.
We knew about the AARP and World Health Organization online grid of age friendly communities.
We wanted to be a part of that work, so Boston joined the connection.
The mayor is key to our initiative.
Having his support and the support of the administration has been crucial to our effort.
Boston has dedicated resources to make changes and make Boston a great community for all.
What would you recommend for a city with fewer resources?
Cities can start the work wherever they are and with whatever resources they have.
They dont have to start with a full action plan.
They can concentrate on one domain or two domains.
Its really about doing the work and trying to figure out how that work can get done.
Whats been the biggest challenge in Bostons age-friendly work?
I have two pieces of advice.
The first is that you dont need to have a lot to start this key in of work.
It can be started in any way and it can be built upon.
Thats important to remember.
The work can be manageable, and its just about taking some steps in the right direction.
The other piece of advice I have is to listen to your constituents, listen to your residents.
We did these things is this what you wanted to see?
What are the other issues youre seeing?
How can we change and grow and be better?"
Having that kind of two-way street with the people youre serving is really important to the effort.
Mike Watson is an AARP senior advisor specializing in livable communities and mayoral initiatives.
| Article published May 2019
