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Date: 11/8/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — The Council on Aging wants to hear from seniors at two upcoming listening sessions. The information they provide will help East Longmeadow to become an age-friendly town.
This summer, East Longmeadow received a Community Compact Grant to fund listening sessions and a survey to gather data about the needs of the town’s age 60-plus population. This outreach will allow the town to determine the nature of its needs.
East Longmeadow’s Council on Aging began a dementia-friendly initiative in spring 2022. While there is overlap between that initiative and the age-friendly one, Council on Aging Director Erin Koebler said dementia-friendly practices focus on making life more navigable for those with cognitive decline, whereas age-friendly practices are broader and apply to all aspects of life for seniors, such as housing, transportation, safety and parks.
“While we were making inroads with community education around memory impairment, dementia, and caregiving, the Community Compact Grant allowed us to take a step back and create a more comprehensive initiative that will result in an action plan we can present to the wider community,” Koebler said. “Our goal was always to have an initiative that felt thorough, concrete, and authentic for those aging in East Longmeadow.”
The Council on Aging is working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to administer the listening sessions. The first listening session was hosted at the Pleasant View Senior Center in October. The focus of that session was housing, health and community services, including in-home and assisted living health services. Koebler said the main takeaway from that session was that seniors are “very worried” about being taxed out of their homes and there is not enough affordable housing for them to downsize.
Conversation at the Friday, Nov. 17, session will consider transportation services, buildings and outdoors space, including sidewalks and crosswalks. The session will run from 12:30-2 p.m.
The final session will take place on Friday, Dec. 15, from 12:30-2 p.m. This one will explore social opportunities, civic engagement, public safety, employment and communication, specifically, technology access and programs for those with hearing or visual impairments.
After the listening sessions are complete, Koebler said the information and an action plan will be presented to the town manager and the Town Council in June 2024.
Koebler said East Longmeadow is aging rapidly, with 30% of residents now over the age of 60 and expected to rise to 40% by 2030. “I’m not sure any community in the area is prepared for the number of people aged 60 and older who are coming,” she said. “We need to focus on the needs of that population.”