Shifting Community Attitudes Around Aging: One

Shifting Community Attitudes
Around Aging: One County’s Path
to Creating Culture Change
n4a Annual Conference
July 12, 2015
PRESENTERS:
Dianna Benaknin, Retired Director, York County Area Agency on Aging
Cathy Bollinger, Managing Director of Embracing Aging, York County Community Foundation
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One of 67 counties in PA; contains 72
municipalities
441,000 residents of which more than
150,000 are age 50 or older
910 sq. miles; shares southern border with
Maryland; 1 ½ hours wide and 2 hours
north to south
Mix of urban and rural with a little “Dutchy”
thrown in
Fifteen Senior Community Centers
Home of the York Fair, York Peppermint Patty, York Barbell,
Pfaltzgraff Dinnerware, and many snack companies
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52 Area Agencies on Aging in Pennsylvania
YCAAA is county government based, serving one county in South
Central PA
State lottery supplements OAA resources
Large menu of services including:
o Older Adult Protective Service
o ADRC
o Service Coordination
o Care Transition
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96,000 individuals age 60 or older
Staff of 90 with the support of about 200 volunteers
We’re not the local Automobile Association
Founded in 1961
Mission:
To create a vibrant York County by engaging donors, providing
community leadership, and investing in high-impact initiatives while
building endowment for future generations
 $110 million assets
 $3.6 million awarded in
grants to the community
in 2014
1913:
Bequest from woman’s will eventually becomes the
Hahn Home
2007:
Hahn Home Board selected to move its assets to the
Community Foundation
2008 – 2012: Convened many stakeholder groups to identify aging
priorities
2013:
Hired experts in age-friendly work; selected to be
part of n4a Livable Communities Collaborative
2014:
Set the Foundation
Sept. 2013 – Sept. 2014
One of six communities
nationwide selected to be
part of n4a’s MetLife-funded
Livable Communities
Collaborative
The communities: Larimer County, CO; Miami Gardens, FL; Monroe
County (Rochester area), NY; Santa Fe, NM; Sedgwick County (Wichita),
KS; and York, PA.
Defined
Guiding
Principles
Defined Purpose of
Priority Areas
Defined
Framework
Defined Vision
Hired Managing
Director of
Embracing Aging
Formed
Advisory Committee
Embracing Aging
Making York County a
great place to age!
Catalyst
Strategic Funder
To learn more about the Community Foundation’s Embracing Aging, visit www.embracingaging.org
Strategies for Shifting Community
Attitudes Around Aging
Making York County
a great place to age!
 Pushback on Embracing Aging name
 Society obsessed with youth
 Aging too often viewed as an impairment or decline
 Impact of negative attitudes on quality of life
 Needed for age-inclusive thinking
60% of respondents
had very positive
attitudes toward older
adults.
Quality interactions lead to
more positive aging
attitudes; the frequency of
the interactions do not
impact attitudes on aging.
51% of respondents did not
have set beliefs and judgments
regarding how older adults as a
group should act.
36% of
respondents
rated their
attitude
toward their
own aging as
very positive.
Objectives:
• To learn about the
uniqueness of older
adults.
• To be aware of the
impact of aging
biases.
• To learn the value
of older adults.
Start Seeing Seniors
https://vimeo.com/74885374
Building the case for
embracing patrons
over 50 years old
• Hosted a community discussion between healthcare providers and
rabbittransit
• Hosted a community dialog for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
• Sponsored Creative Aging Conference bringing in National Center for
Creative Aging
• Served as a “beta test site” for NCCA’s Creative Caregiving Initiative
• Actively support and make accessible arts/cultural and lifelong learning
opportunities for older adults
• Sponsor Teepa Snow presentation (leader in Alzheimer’s education)
• Host a workshop for long-term care providers around person-centered
care
• Partner on a county-wide walking initiative
• Partner on a collaborative SNAP initiative
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af4q (aligning forces for quality)
Senior Outreach Service Coalition
Senior Information Network Group
Service Providers
York LINK
York County Food Alliance
Healthy York County Coalition
York/Adam’s Healthy Needs Assessment
Eat.Play.Breath York
York County Housing Choice Committee
Housing Outreach and Education Committee
York County Area Agency on Aging
York County Planning Commission
York County Economic Alliance (Chamber)
Senior Center Directors
DotDot
Connector
Collector
Municipality Administrators
rabbittransit (public transit)
How old would you be if
you didn’t know how
old you are?
Thank You!
Questions and Comments
Dianna Benaknin
oapsa@comcast.net
Cathy Bollinger
cbollinger@yccf.org