Document sans titre
America and its communities
are aging and aging rapidly. As the Baby Boom generation- born between 1946
and 1964- reaches retirement age, the number of Americans over age 65 is expected
to reach 71.5 million by 2030- twice their number in the year 2000. At that
point, one out of every five people in the nation will be an older adult. The
fastest growing segment of America’s aging population are those people
over the age of 85 who are most likely to need the support of family, friends
and the community to remain living independently.
The vast majority of older
Americans want to age in their homes and communities for as long as possible.
However, the aging of the population will pose new challenges for the delivery
of local services such as health care, recreation, housing, transportation,
public safety, employment and education. While these services assist a broad
segment of the population, they also have a major impact on the quality of life
of older Americans. The aging of America will also present opportunities as
the nation’s communities realize the largest population of educated and
skilled older adults in its history.
To help cities and counties
better meet the needs of their aging population, and to harness the experience
and talent of their older citizens, five national organizations joined forces
to identify ways to prepare for the aging of this population. Known as The Maturing
of America — Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population, the
project is being led by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging,
in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, National
Association of Counties, National League of Cities and Partners for Livable
Communities. The initiative is funded by a grant from MetLife Foundation.
In the project’s
first phase, Maturing of America partners surveyed 10,000 local governments
to:
• determine their
“aging readiness” to provide programs, policies and services that
address the needs of older adults and their caregivers;
• to ensure that their communities are “livable” for persons
of all ages; and
• to harness the talent, wisdom and experience of older adults to contribute
to the community at large. The survey found that only 46 percent of American
communities have begun to address the needs of the rapidly increasing aging
population. The survey results show that although many communities have some
programs to address the needs of older adults, few have undertaken a comprehensive
assessment to make their communities “elder friendly” or livable
communities for all ages.
Survey findings indicate
that local governments generally offer basic health and nutrition programs,
but as yet do not have the policies, programs or services in place to promote
the quality of life and the ability of older adults to live independently and
contribute to their communities for as long as possible.. These services might
include job retraining, flextime and other job accommodations; home chore services,
home modification and senior-friendly housing options, tax relief, roadway redesign
or public transportation assistance as well as volunteer opportunities targeted
to older adults.
The needs of older adults
are often interrelated. For example, providing housing will not be sufficient
if residents lack
transportation to get to basic services such as medical offices, the pharmacy
or grocery store. These interdependent needs of
older adults may require a completely new comprehensive, holistic approach to
service delivery organization and management.
American’s communities need to take a fresh look at their existing policies,
programs and services to see if they address the
needs of an aging population. Those communities who have already begun to test
their “aging readiness” are now reaching out
to their older citizens to engage them in discussions about what changes to
local government services may be needed to
enhance their quality of life and ensure that they can grow old successfully
in the community.
Although some of the changes
that may be necessary to respond to an aging population may take a significant
investment,
many potential quality-of-life improvements can be accomplished with little
cost and some as part of the local governments
regular maintenance schedules. Some examples include:
• Providing road
signs and markings that are more visible and easily read by older drivers.
• Adjusting the timing on pedestrian crossings to accommodate the mobility
impaired older adults.
• Changing zoning ordinances to allow smaller residences on smaller
lots to accommodate empty nesters.
These changes as well as
others that would assist older adults age in their community would, in fact,
benefit the community at large. Replacing road signs with larger print signs
would help citizens of all ages see signs more clearly. Increasing the timing
at pedestrian crossings would help parents with small children. Backyard trash
service would assist citizens of all ages who may be mobility impaired. Encouraging
the development of smaller homes would benefit young adults without children
and other citizens searching for affordable housing.
Responding to the maturing
of America offers local governments the opportunity to make their communities
livable communities for all ages--- good places to grow up and to grow old.
The report presents the findings of the Maturing of America survey as well as
recommendations and solutions based on the survey findings. A summary of the
findings follows.
- HEALTH … Access
to affordable health care and preventive services is a growing concern among
older adults who have a greater risk of suffering from acute and chronic diseases.
Recommendation: Communities should play a major role in ensuring access to a
range of needed preventive health care services for older adults.
- NUTRITION … An estimated
4 million older adults in the United States suffer from food insecurity or the
inability to afford, prepare or gain access to food. Recommendation: Communities
should support a range of healthy home-delivered and congregate meals, as well
as educational and purchasing assistance programs to ensure that at-risk older
adults have access to adequate nutrition.
- EXERCISE ... Too few older
adults get sufficient daily exercise, despite research showing that exercise
can greatly increase overall muscle strength, bone density, agility and general
function. Recommendation: Communities should provide a range of fitness programs
to assist older adults to safely and effectively exercise to improve their overall
health and well-being. dditionally, communities can ensure that their parks
and recreational facilities include walking trails, benches and fitness facilities
that would accommodate and attract older citizens.
-¦ TRANSPORTATION
... Reduced mobility can put an older person at higher risk of poor health,
isolation and loneliness. Like the majority of American adults, older Americans
rely on private automobiles to meet their mobility needs. However, the physical
limitations that come with age may overtime restrict or eliminate an older person’s
ability to drive. Many older adults who cannot drive can still live independently
if they have access to available, adequate, affordable and accessible public
transportation.
Recommendation: Communities
should offer driving assessment and training to help older adults remain on
the road as safely
as possible for as long as possible. Communities should also consider improvements
to roadway design such as large print road
signs, grooved lane dividers, dedicated left turn lanes and extended walk times
at pedestrian crosswalks to accommodate older
drivers and pedestrians. Additionally, local governments should assess their
existing public transportation systems to see if they
address the needs of an aging population.
- PUBLIC SAFETY/EMERGENCY
SERVICES ... Older adults often feel especially vulnerable to disasters or other
emergencies, falls and injuries, and crime and victimization. An estimated half-million
persons age 60 and older are
abused, neglected or exploited in their domestic settings. Additionally older
adults who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and
other forms of dementia are at risk for wandering and getting lost.
Recommendation: Communities should ensure that public safety personnel and first
responders are trained to deal with the
specialized needs of older adults and that these needs are specifically addressed
in community disaster plans. They also need to
investigate and consider adapting new technologies designed to ensure the safety
and well-being of older adults.
- HOUSING ... Studies have
shown that older adults overwhelmingly prefer to “age in place”
in their existing homes and communities, but may need to modify their existing
home or move to another residence that is more accessible, more affordable or
more appropriate in size to accommodate their changing needs.
Recommendation: Communities
should play a critical role in promoting the development of home modification
programs that assist older citizens to adapt their existing homes to meet their
needs. Additionally, communities should assess their land useplans, zoning ordinances
and building codes to promote the development of a range of housing options
that meet the needs of an aging population. These should be as close as possible
to transportation links and/or walkable distance from daily needs like medical
services or shopping.
- TAXATION AND FINANCE ...
As older adults retire and face living on reduced and fixed incomes, their ability
to pay taxes, especially property taxes, may become limited. Escalating real
estate prices raise property tax assessments. These increases on top of rising
fees for water, sewer and garbage collection can place serious financial strains
on many older citizens ability to age in place. Recommendation: Communities
should assist older citizens by providing tax assistance and relief to those
most in financial need. Additionally, communities should offer education and
training for older adults about how to protect hemselves against financial fraud
and predatory lending.
- WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
... Many older adults are remaining in the workforce and their numbers are expected
to rise in the future. Factors that will make it more likely that older adults
will continue to work include the increase in the Social Security retirement
age, the elimination or reduction of employer pension plans, fluctuations in
the stock market, and elimination of employer-provided retiree health coverage.
The rise in older workers will require communities to provide special job training
or retraining, modified work schedules and other job accommodations. Recommendation:
Communities should develop or partner with others who offer job training and
retraining programs and lifelong learning opportunities that assist older adults
to remain in the workforce. Additionally, communities should promote employment
options — such as part- and flex-time work options — to attract
and retain an aging workforce.
- CIVIC ENGAGEMENT/VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES ... As older adults either retire or move to parttime employment,
studies have shown that they hope to have more time to “give back”
to their communities or become involved in meaningful and purposeful activities.
The increase in the number of older adults can be a boom for communities that
need assistance in carrying out programs and services. Recommendation: Communities
should create and expand opportunities for the effective and purposeful participation
of older citizens on community boards and commissions as well as to create and
expand meaningful volunteer opportunities in local government and non-profit
organizations.
- AGING/HUMAN SERVICES ...
As people age they may need a range of supportive services to assist them in
aging successfully in their homes and communities for as long as possible. However,
currently older adults and their caregivers must navigate a maze of fragmented
systems in order to access services. Recommendation: Communities should promote
the development of a single point of entry for information and access to all
aging services. Additionally, communities should increase their support for
a continuum of supportive services that older adults need to remain living independently
at home and in the community.
- POLICIES/GUIDELINES ...
Land use and other planning processes can significantly impact the ability of
an older adult to age successfully in their home and community. . Recommendation:
Communities need to broadly re-examine existing planning policies to reflect
the needs of an aging population and to develop strategies to engage older adults
to be actively engaged in these processes. These recommendations offer cities
and counties concrete steps they can take to begin preparing for the aging of
the Baby Boomers.
Source : Th oef AMmateurricinag
Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population http://www.aginginplaceinitiative.org
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