Dec. 19, 2007
Westchester is moving forward with a plan to develop more senior-friendly locations by opening nine new regional sites that will tackle local issues and work to make the county a more desirable place for older people to live.
The purpose of the plan, known as the “Livable Community Connection” (LCC), is to identify and develop ways for more seniors to “age in place.” That means they would be able to continue to live in their homes as they grow older with dignity, independence and civic involvement rather than be forced to relocate prematurely, if at all. Study after study has shown that at least 82 percent of older people prefer to stay where they are.
Hallmarks of livable communities include affordable housing options with supportive services, housing for people with limited mobility, adequate and accessible transportation, roads designed for safe driving and well staffed community centers with good programming and opportunities to socialize.
These are among the issues the LCC project will promote, sometimes in conjunction with elected officials from local and regional municipalities, other times through citizen advocacy efforts.
Most of the LCC sites are located at existing community-based organizations throughout the county. Each site is headed by a coordinator, who will work with an advisory council of community leaders that will focus on regional concerns and task forces that will deal with issues specific to individual municipalities.
The LCC project is part of the larger “Livable Communities Initiative: A Vision for All Ages - Bringing People and Places Together,” a multi-year endeavor launched in June 2006.
The overall initiative is supported by the County’s Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS), AARP and the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services, Inc.
The LCC project is primarily aimed at seniors. But people of all ages will help to build and benefit from such communities. All sectors of society have a stake in its success as well, including government agencies, businesses, academic institutions and houses of worship.
Taxpayers will benefit, too. It is much less expensive to enable seniors to continue to live in their homes rather than apply for Medicaid if they must move into a nursing home. If volunteers in the communities were willing to pick up prescriptions at neighborhood pharmacies for homebound seniors it could determine whether those seniors can continue to live at home or not.
The start of the Livable Community Connection presents an exciting step forward and a major challenge that we will meet. Other communities across the country are just waking up to the need for such endeavors while Westchester has already been cited for its leadership. We’re way ahead of the curve.
Westchester’s initiative has been recognized as a nationwide “best practices” model by Partners for Livable Communities, a nonprofit organization, which is promoting such projects throughout the United States.
DSPS Commissioner Mae Carpenter, who is spearheading the Westchester initiative, was invited to discuss its progress in February at a national Internet conference presented by the University of California’s Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services.
Carpenter said the County needs the LCCs to be as prepared as possible to meet the needs of its rapidly aging population.
There were 187,043 people 60 years of age and older in Westchester County in 2007, including the 9,608 Baby Boomers who turned 60 this year. They comprised 19.5 percent of the county’s total population. Just under 8,000 (7,988) Baby Boomers will turn 60 in 2008, which means that 20.5 percent of the total population or just over one in five County residents will be 60 years or older by the end of that year.
Also, the number of seniors who are 85 or older has jumped 24 percent in the last two decades, making it the fastest growing segment of the county’s older-adult population as well as the age group most in need of supportive services.
Carpenter said the LCC project is a “citizens’ engagement and empowerment program” that will strengthen Westchester’s communities through a network of public and private entities and volunteer services.
One job of the site coordinators will be to provide educational forums on topics requested by the community – perhaps on elder abuse, older driver safety or healthy eating. They will also act as facilitators to put seniors with similar concerns in touch with each other and help them to become their own advocates. For example, they might help seniors with common goals to find a meeting place. Or if a group wants to advocate for affordable housing, the coordinator might be able to inform them about hearings scheduled on that topic.
The coordinators will also identify gaps in services and create “action agendas” for their regions.
The AARP helped Westchester set priorities by sponsoring “community visioning” sessions in different parts of the county this fall. These sessions helped coordinators to identify strengths and weaknesses in their regions and to develop practical plans to reach their goals over the next three to five years.
“With the aging of our population, the government cannot meet all the needs of seniors, nor should it,” Carpenter said. “The primary success of the Livable Community Connection projects will depend upon residents volunteering their time to help each other and to join local taskforces and committees to study, assess and speak out on critical issues.”
The coordinators welcome calls from people of all ages who are willing to be volunteers. They also hope to hear from experts willing to be included in a speaker’s bureau directory or to teach skills such as computer basics or to offer classes in such life enriching areas as art and dancing.