The Aging in Place Workshops and “JumpStart the Conversation” Grants are a project of Partners for Livable Communities and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, with support from the MetLife Foundation. Over the next year, our team will be implementing a series of dynamic and engaging regional workshops designed to highlight the opportunity to improve livability for all ages spun around the catalyst of the growing age demographic. These thematic workshops will be enriched through small “JumpStart the Conversation” grants that will be awarded to partnerships tied to the workshop communities with innovative ideas and action plans on how to tackle the Aging in Place issue in their community. As a result of the workshops and grant opportunities, communities will have a renewed sense of urgency on approaching community livability for all as well as an energized group of organizations and individuals collaborating to face the challenges that accompany this time of change. Following the event, a professional journalist will prepare a small publication summarizing key points of each workshop that will be distributed to all participants.

Overall Goals Of Workshops/ “JumpStart the Conversation” Grants

• Educate the community on the importance of an Aging in Place Initiative
• Investigate a specific issue through a moderated discussion between local and national experts and with input from the community
• Understand the obstacles and benefits to taking action on the issue
• Generate discussion on short, mid and long term actions to resolve or promote the issue
• Mobilize and empower local residents and organizations to work together to take action

Workshops

Each workshop will be focused on a particular theme. The theme will reflect a local issue of interest and will also focus on an area of Aging in Place that the community has just begun (or not even begun) to explore. National and local experts on Aging in Place and the specific theme will join workshop participants in a panel discussion addressing local and national challenges around the theme, examples of success stories, and opportunities for both local and national action. The workshops are free, however pre-registration is required as space is limited.

A report of this discussion by a journalist and an analysis by Partners will be available in a post-event booklet.

“JumpStart the Conversation” Grants

The second component of the workshops will be the opportunity for local groups to partner and take community-wide action on Aging in Place. Partners will award 10 partnerships, tied to the workshop communities, a small grant each to create an action plan to solve a problem relating to Aging in Place or an opportunity for the initiative to prosper in the community.

It is envisioned that these action plans and project grants will be the first steps toward a more comprehensive community effort. These grants applications might be written to fund a town meeting to gather input on local assets and challenges, community mapping of the many assets available, sidewalk benches at appropriate locations, or the exploration of para-transit options functioning in other localities.