Greeley, Evans and Garden City are now members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, which provides guidance and resources for improving Weld County for older adults and people of all ages. The United Way of Weld County-led Aging Well collaborative has been working with these municipalities for joining AARP’s network.
“Our three Weld County cities are the 519th, 520th and 521st communities to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities,” said Shawn Walcott, assistant director of household stability for United Way of Weld County. “The Aging Well group will now work with the cities on next steps which will include a needs assessment, identifying priority areas, developing a strategic community improvement plan, implementing the plan, and evaluating progress.”
The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities was established in 2012. According to the AARP website, the common thread among the enrolled communities 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. AARP says that well-designed, age-friendly communities foster growth and make for happier, healthier residents of all ages.
Included are 8 Domains of Livability used by many of the towns, cities, counties and states enrolled in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities to organize and prioritize their efforts to become more livable for both older residents and people of all ages. These include:
• Housing
• Outdoor Spaces and Buildings
• Transportation
• Communication and Information
• Civic Participation and Employment
• Respect and Social Inclusion
• Health Services and Community Supports
• Social Participation
AARP says the availability and quality of these community features impact the well-being of older adults and help make communities more livable for people of all ages.
“It’s going to give citizens a greater opportunity to participate in the planning, designing and developing of our communities as they grow so that they will be able to support people of all ages and allow residents to thrive at every stage of life,” said Jim Riesberg, a member of the United Way Aging Well collaboration. “It gives us a new way to foster community partnerships. We’re one of the few where United Way is so actively involved. Most other cities don’t have that. It will open new opportunities for volunteers and will allow us to be in a network where we can share resources and best practices with other similar situations around the country to see what works best.”
Riesberg said about 40 organizations in the community came together to form the Aging Well group and to discuss what the initiative would mean for the future. The collaborative was founded in 2019 and has a collective impact methodology, which means that all of the organizations are working towards big goals that no one can achieve on their own.
“We started looking at what are the resources that could be made available to us,” he said. “These tools that will now be provided through the Age-Friendly Network we can see as very important. Coming in as three cities is kind of a new concept. Also, having United Way as the sponsor/advocate of this was an innovation in Colorado as well.”
The need for this network continues to grow because the population of the United States is rapidly aging. AARP says approximately 45 million Americans are age 65 or older. By 2030, that number will reach 73 million. By 2030, one of every five people in the U.S. will be 65 or older. By 2035, the number of adults older than 65 will be greater than the number of children under 18.
Evans City Manager Jim Becklenberg said needs will be met by joining the AARP network. “The support and resources of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities helps meet a challenging need for the City of Evans,” Becklenberg said. “The opportunity to collaborate with our neighboring communities with the support of the AARP network will help ensure a seamless continuum of senior services and opportunities for the region.”
Colorado is a state member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, and there are 15 counties or cities throughout the state that are already part of the network, excluding Evans, Greeley and Garden City.
For more information on the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities or the United Way Aging Well Collective Impact workgroup, contact Shawn Walcott at SWalcott@UnitedWay-Weld.org or at (970) 304-6187.
