Council on Aging conducts listening sessions to make city more livable

Aug. 21, 2019 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD – West Springfield wants to hear from you. The Council on Aging and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) have come together to conduct a series of seven listening sessions as part of the West Springfield Age and Dementia Friendly Community initiative. It is funded through a grant from the AARP and through the Massachusetts Department of Health’s Mass in Motion program.

The goal is to get input from residents of West Springfield on how to make the town a more “liveable community”, said Becky Basch, senior planner at the PVPC. “West Springfield is pretty far ahead of a lot of communities. They have already been designated as an age-friendly community,” by the AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, said Basch. She told Reminder Publishing that 25 percent of the town is over the age of 60 and that population is only growing.

“The town has been working on becoming an age-friendly community,” said Lori Cassidy, director of the West Springfield Council on Aging. She cited the “complete streets” project, in which streets within a community were looked at with accessibility and safety in mind.

Basch stressed, however, that ideas designed to address the needs of the aging will also create a more livable community for everybody.

“If it’s good for someone in a wheelchair, it’s good for someone with a stroller,” Basch said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified eight domains of liveability: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community and health services. AARP uses the eight domains as criteria for their Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.

The first session was held on Aug. 15 at the Senior Center. That event and the next one are a “general overview” explaining what they’re trying to do and getting general feedback. The remaining five sessions tackle one or more of the eight domains. The sessions will run through October.

The information from the sessions, which are hosted by Cassidy and Basch, will be analyzed and put into an action plan. Basch expects to have that plan ready to present to Mayor Will Reichelt by the end of November. Cassidy said the action plan will be a living document, designed to be updated and flexible.

“Being at the crossroads of New England, we strive to meet the needs of all of our residents and patrons,” said Reichelt. “We urge the community to participate in these listening sessions because they are the ones ultimately benefiting through the work we do. The more input we receive the better.”

The sessions, which are free to attend and open to everyone in the community, will be split between the Public Library, at 200 Park St., and the Senior Center at 128 Park St., and conducted at various times, to attract as many people as possible. There is also a survey available at the Senior Center and online, at www.surveymonkey.com/r/BLNQDXX. Basch said it has already been completed by over 200 people.

Cassidy said they want to “get a good slice of the demographic[s] in our community,” to hear as many concerns as possible. Basch and Cassidy hope to get as many people as possible to attend the sessions.

“Good public feedback lends itself to a healthy document,” Cassidy said, and the idea is that a healthy document lends itself to a healthy community.

The schedule for the remaining listening sessions is as follows:

•Sept. 4, from 6 . to 7:30 p.m. General Overview & Listening Session West Springfield Public Library •Sept. 9, from 10 to 11 a.m. Housing & Aging in Place West Springfield Senior Center
•Sept. 23, from 6 to 7 p.m. Outdoor Spaces & Public Buildings, Active Living & Healthy Eating West Springfield Public Library
•Oct. 10, from 2 to 3 p.m. Civic Engagement, Civic Participation, Employment, & Social Inclusion West Springfield Senior Center
•Oct. 22, from 10 to 11 a.m. Community Support & Health Services West Springfield Senior Center
•Oct. 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Transportation, Communication & Information West Springfield Public Library

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