SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott is rolling out a new committee in hopes of addressing the continuous increase in its elderly population.
Town residents Heidi Whear and Robert Powell were named co-chairs of the Swampscott for All Ages Committee, which has been in the works for the last two years. At Town Meeting in May, a $30,000, age-friendly community assessment was approved, which found that the number of residents age 60 and older will rise from 25 percent to 33 percent over the next 12 years, according to a town press release.
“It has been a process,” said Powell. “We had to secure the $30,000 from the town and then once we received that funding, we had to determine how best to conduct the study and implement whatever the findings would be. We thought we would create a committee, just like the Master Plan Committee that was initiated about three years ago.”
The committee will work to oversee research activities at the University of Massachusetts- Boston, Gerontology Institute, and Center for Social & Demographic Research in Aging.
The town’s newest initiative aligns with Governor Charlie Baker’s goal to make Massachusetts the most age-friendly state in the country, according to Mike Festa, state director for American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) in Massachusetts. Swampscott is following closely behind Salem, which first initiated its all-ages committee in 2015.
“Our role is, in partnership with World Health Organization, to promote an age-friendly network,” said Festa. “It is a process with a very disciplined approach to look at communities from a community perspective and ask fundamental questions around the eight domains that, in policy and practice, communities should be implementing.”
The domains are: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community and health services.
Festa said, in his experience, each community working on an age-friendly approach has a specific domain they need to prioritize. For Swampscott, the two biggest priorities lie within housing and community engagement, according to Powell.
“The most critical point is this is about every age in the community living and growing in a place where they know their policy makers and deciders look at money through an age-friendly lens,” said Festa. “When it comes to getting around in a community, a mother with a stroller has the same problem as a woman in her 80s with a walker.”
Powell said many of the town’s residential properties are walk-ups, meaning residents need to climb flights of stairs to get to their front door, and older residents are best suited with walk-in residences that are easily accessible. The assessment study also found that many of the older residents feel socially isolated and are urging for more events they can be a part of or for resources that provide them with someone to talk to.
A five-year plan to make Swampscott an age-friendly, age-ready community will be created and implemented by the committee. The co-chairs are seeking volunteers to become members of the committee and its future sub-committees. Powell said the hope is that those interested in volunteering are passionate about the subject or have knowledge on any of the specific domains.
The committee is expected to meet monthly through April 2019, in order to present the final plan at Town Meeting the following month. For those interested in volunteering to become committee or subcommittee members, letters of interest need to be submitted by Monday, Nov. 19 to Ana Lanzilli, administrative assistant to the town administrator and Board of Selectmen.
The letters should state your interest on serving on the committee, why you think you would be a good fit, and your contact information. They can be sent to [email protected] or mailed directly to Town Hall, 22 Monument Ave.
“These are just a plethora of things no one has to think about until they realize they can’t walk down the stairs to go to their bedroom anymore or are getting dementia or becoming ill and need safety protocols in their homes,” said Powell.
