It may be obvious that everyone is aging, but not everywhere in the world has the proper systems in place to support older adults.
Day-to-day obstacles faced by older adults can be difficult to navigate without community support, including mobility, transportation, household maintenance, health and ageism.
In the next 30-35 years, Columbus’ population of adults 65 and over is expected to double. According to a 2016 survey conducted by the Age-Friendly Innovation Center (AFIC), while older adults are generally satisfied with living in Columbus, they still have concerns, including:
- Lack of preparation and resources for older adults
- Difficulty finding affordable and accessible housing, due to rapid growth
- Negative stereotypes
AFIC was established in 2016 to address these challenges, prior to being transferred to the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University. The first step was to officially establish Columbus as an “age-friendly” city through the AARP, says center Director Marisa Sheldon.
“The age-friendly term has to do more with being a part of the network,” Sheldon says. “To join the network, you need commitment from your highest-ranking officials”.
Mayor Andrew Ginther, with help from the Franklin County Commissioners, helped establish Columbus as age-friendly in 2016. Joining the AARP’s age-friendly network is just the first step, though. AFIC has eight main areas of focus:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Transportation
- Housing
- Safety and emergency preparedness
- Respect and inclusion
- Employment and civic engagement
- Communication
- Community support/health services
The organization works with groups around central Ohio to ensure its goals in each area are fulfilled.
One such program is the membership-based Network of Villages. Older adults in communities around Columbus have the opportunity to receive scholarships and financial aid, and are able to receive help from local volunteers, outdoor maintenance services and transportation services such as Lyfting Villages, which provides safe and inexpensive transportation for older adults. The network includes German Village, Clintonville, the Short North, Hilltop, Union County and Upper Arlington.
“You just have to reach out to your local village to get connected,” Sheldon says. “They are neighborhood-based organizations, but we’re excited to see it grow and expand.”
AFIC is also working to fight ageism through slogans, billboards, photo shoots and the #ButtonUpAgeism project. The project features pinback buttons that display age-positive slogans such as “Aging: so cool everybody is doing it!”, “Old is gold” and “Rockin’ the gray.” It also focuses on teaching the younger generation to have a positive outlook on aging through classes for elementary and middle school students and the Age-Friendly Innovation Center Scholars program for graduate and undergraduate students at OSU.
Though Columbus and Franklin County are official locations in the Age-Friendly Network, Sheldon believes that, even without this formal status, the two areas can be considered age-friendly.
“When we think about that language, it’s also thinking about the commitment to listening and working towards being as age-friendly as possible,” she says. “Of course, nothing is 100 percent perfect, but we’re working towards building a community that works for people of all ages, and I’m really proud to be a part of that work.”
Connor Quinn is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
