February 2022 Age-Friendly Planning

At present, we have three working groups. Participation in these groups remain open. If you would like to join a group(s), please contact the conveners listed below.

(1)    aging-in-place looking considering resources and supports for older adults who (as most do) are choosing to stay in their current homes, resources and supports for older adult aging-in-place with chronic conditions; resources and supports for caregivers.

1. a.       The group is working with aligning two sets of data: identified needs and an assets inventory being complied by UMR CoLab students.
2. b.       Some AFOC participants have expressed interest in a working group with a specific caregivers/caregiving focus.
3. c.       This group has generally been meeting via Zoom bi-weekly Thursdays 4pm-5pm. Check with April Sutor (asutor@familyservicerochester.org) for current meetings link.

(2)    aging-in-place readiness looking at collecting, curating, and actively making available information remaining at home and preparations to do so.

1. a.       This group is also developing a format for use reporting out the group action plans.
2. b.       This group has generally been meeting via Zoom bi-weekly Fridays 10am-11am. Check with Alan Hansen (alan.hansen@gmail.com) for current meetings and link

(3)    aging-in-community looking at strategies for participation, influence, and advocacy in community policies, planning, and development projects.

1. a.       This group’s outcomes would include changes that benefit older adults in community environments, relationships, institutions, or organizations, including changes in issue visibility, community norms, partnerships, public will, political will, policies, regulations.
2. b.       This group has generally been meeting via Zoom bi-weekly Wednesdays 4pm-5pm. Check with Dave Beal (dbeal@familyservicerochester.org) for current meetings and link.

Agenda

1. 1.            Updates
2. 2.            Reports/Discussions from work groups
3. 3.            Diversity, equity, inclusion [see below]

From the Age-Friendly Olmsted County Community Assessment Findings Report | June 2021

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Aging

The World Health Organization makes an important connection between aging and social justice, noting that life expectancies vary widely across societies and are linked to social and environmental conditions in each place. Similarly, in its final recommendations to the governor in August 2020, the Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota makes diversity and inclusion a centerpiece of its work to recognize the impacts of racism and longstanding disparities experienced by various groups of older Minnesotans—particularly people of color, as well as low-income residents, and residents of rural areas, among others.

Age-Friendly Olmsted County similarly commits to these principles. Age-friendliness is inherently focused on broad and expansive inclusion, and we will work to ensure that we are inclusive not only of age but of income, race, ethnicity, (dis)ability, geography, and other characteristics commonly tied to discrimination. p 15

Increasing racial and ethnic diversity

Olmsted County residents, primarily in Rochester, are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Younger people are more diverse than older ones, which is generally true more broadly throughout the U.S., as well. In 2019, nearly 84% of all county residents were white, compared to almost 94% of those ages 65 and over. There is a greater contrast in Rochester, where 79.4% of the overall population is white, compared to 92.5% of those 65 and over.

Beliefs, norms, and customs related to aging often vary considerably across cultures, and as more residents from different racial and ethnic groups age into older adulthood, the need for culturally appropriate services, healthcare and preventative care, and education will become increasingly important. pp 17-18

Racial, health, and income disparities

Olmsted County’s 2019 CHNA exposed numerous disparities for people of color and low-income people—again, increasingly important as our population diversifies. Among these disparities is the poverty rate for Black residents in Rochester, which is 35 percentage points higher than for white residents, one of the biggest gaps among comparably-sized metro areas. Other examples are noted later in this report. AFOC must deliberately include the needs of older people of color, those who are low-income, and other groups who experience disparities to ensure that all residents benefit from the work of this initiative. p 18

Dave Beal

Age-Friendly Olmsted County Coordinator

Family Service Rochester

4600 18^th Ave NW

Rochester, MN 55901

507-287-2010

www.familyservicerochester.org