​  Senior Care

The Age Friendly Network

Making communities livable for seniors

By Will Phillips

ll of us are aging and the population of the United States is aging rapidly. By 2035, the number of adults older than 65 will be greater than the number of school-age children.  In Minnesota, we hit that milestone this year. That’s why since 2012,  staff and volunteers have been working throughout the nation to engage and mobilize communities, share expertise, and deliver technical assistance to the towns, cities, counties and states by creating the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities (the Network).  This work is part of a broader effort to make communities more livable, as well as AARP’s ongoing work to support older adults to live their best lives at every age.

The Network provides cities, towns, counties and states with the resources to become more age-friendly by tapping into national and global research, planning models and best practices.  Membership in the Network means that a community’s elected leadership has made a commitment to actively work with residents and local advocates to make their community an age-friendly place to live.

To date, more than 500 towns, cities and counties and 6 states have enrolled in the Network – going through a rigorous five-year cycle of continuous improvement that hinges on a robust assessment of community needs.  That assessment is a critical first step in the process that drives the development of a comprehensive community action plan.  Enrollment in the Network is not a certificate of achievement or a gold star program, but rather a commitment to become more age-friendly by focusing on and taking action to address the needs of older adults.

​Where you live can even more dramatically impact people in middle age.

Members of the Network work to make improvements in their community to all or some combination of eight domains of livability that include outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, opportunities to participate in social activities,  respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information,  community support and health services. The common thread among the enrolled communities and states is the belief that the places where we live are more livable, and better able to support people of all ages, when local leaders commit to improving the quality of life for the very young, the very old, and everyone in between.

In Minnesota, nine communities have officially enrolled in the Network and are at varying stages of work.  While Minneapolis, Alexandria, Northfield and Maple Grove are in the process of implementing their Age-Friendly action plans, Hennepin and Olmsted Counties along with Brooklyn Park, St. Cloud and Princeton are newly enrolled and beginning the process of assessing community needs.  To date, the work of these communities has been deliberate and impressive.

Even before the pandemic hit, the value of pursuing a more “age-friendly future” was evident. A 2019 survey of Network members revealed that 60 percent of enrolled communities in the later stages of their multi- year effort reported having achieved a change in public policy — most frequently in housing, transportation, outdoor spaces and buildings, and health and community services. The same survey revealed that 34 percent achieved a private-sector investment or action, and 85 percent described other successes, such as integrating an age-friendly lens into strategic planning and increasing collaboration within the community.

In the midst of COVID-19, the challenges of isolation, access to food and services, financial stresses, and the importance of accurate and timely information have become even more acute for older Minnesotans.  As an example, “The Pandemic Effect: A Social Isolation Report” – a just-released study conducted by AARP Foundation in collaboration with the United Health Foundation, found two-thirds of adults report experiencing social isolation and high levels of anxiety since the beginning of the pandemic. The report notes that many of those affected have not turned to anyone for help, perhaps because many don’t have reliable social support networks.

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Effective Support Networks

Because of their emphasis on cross-sector partnerships, communication, volunteerism and their focus on older residents, age-friendly communities have served to enhance community response to problems like social isolation and others that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Her are some examples:

• Age-Friendly Maple Grove saw that the pandemic made affordable housing and accessible transportation more important than ever. Their work also pivoted in the midst of the pandemic with the community partnering with T-Mobile to launch a table program for older adults and helping to transition an existing “dial-a-ride” program to include food shelf and grocery delivery and expanding the program to nearby communities.
• In Northfield, the Age-Friendly group developed a telemedicine guide for elders to follow when meeting with doctors online, and as part of their focus on communication and information, they sent an emergency services guide to residents.
• And in Alexandria, the Age-Friendly group set up a friendly caller and video chat program with Elder Network to combat the growing challenge of isolation and to help spread timely and accurate information.

The nine Minnesota Age Friendly Communities are part of a larger, national network where best practices and lessons learned are shared – helping to ensure greater efficacy in community efforts. And while efforts are progressing and more communities are primed to enroll in the Network, there is also new interest in the State of Minnesota stepping up its efforts to become a better place for people to age.

In December of 2019, Governor Tim Walz signed Executive Order 19-38, which established the Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota and “formalized his commitment to making Minnesota the best state to live in at any age.”  That Council, comprised of nine state agency representatives and six community members met throughout the spring and summer and in August delivered a set of recommendations to the Governor, calling for the State to officially enroll in the Network and for the work to be funded and permanently established in law in recognition of aging as a strategic priority for Minnesota.

​Two-thirds of adults report experiencing social isolation.

Statewide Coordination

Done right, this will ensure efforts are coordinated across state agencies to create a more age-friendly state. It will catalyze improvements at the local, community level by providing resources and removing barriers that have previously limited innovative approaches.

The work will ultimately ensure that Minnesota can tap into the opportunities while simultaneously solving for the challenges of an aging population. The structures, services and community features that support older residents also help their children and grandchildren: transportation options, safe, affordable places to live, a community commitment to health and wellness and opportunities to stay engaged and productive.

Whether at the state or local level, supporting Age-Friendly States and Communities ensures that we are moving in tandem with leading thinkers on the social determinants of health by creating what has served as a potent guiding framework to effect local change — in health, well-being, and engagement — all through changes to the built environment as well as social supports.  We’ve long known about the long-term health and income disparities that can be traced to where you were born; but a recent AARP study demonstrates that where you live can even more dramatically impact people in middle age.  The report, How Growing Geographic and Racial Disparities Inhibit the Ability to Live Longer and Healthier Lives, notes that people living in healthier communities in middle age “are benefitting from increasing longevity, while the residents of the worst-performing counties are not given the same opportunity”. Addressing the health, economic and social disparities that have persisted in our state for too long must be a priority for any age-friendly initiative.

Fortunately for all of us, some of the most effective age-friendly community initiatives are those that spring forth from the ground up.  While some age-friendly initiatives begin with mayors and city councils, just as many if not more are pushed by engaged citizens and grassroots organizations. Research into the champions and leaders of age-friendly community work shows that there is a role for everybody.

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Getting Involved

As physicians and health care professionals you can play a vital role in creating community-level change by engaging in the communities where you live.  Stay informed, spread the word, get involved and push for change.

• Take some time to browse the robust set of resources at aarp.org/livable for everything from the basics of the Network to DIY guides around how to assess the walkability of your neighborhood streets, to examples of how communities are addressing everything from housing to public spaces.
• Sign up for our Minnesota-specific AARP Livable Communities newsletter by emailing a request to jhaapala@aarp.org.
• Assess your community’s livability features and explore where there may be gaps and opportunities for improvement by exploring the AARP Livability Index at livabilityindex.aarp.org.
• Push for change at the local and state level by informing community leaders of the benefits of more livable, age-friendly communities and ask them what they are doing to address aging – including enrolling in the Network.
• Connect with state legislators to make them champions for healthy aging.

Will Phillips, is the state director for AARP Minnesota, a non-partisan, non-profit social impact organization with a membership of more than 650,000 Minnesotans over the age of 50. Will can be reached at wphillips@aarp.org.