Plenty of communities have youth commissions but we give Swampscott credit for forming an All Ages Committee with membership committed enough to get the town added to a network of states and communities considered “age friendly” by the American Association of Retired Persons.
Network membership comes with responsibility, said Committee Co-Chair Bob Powell. The committee is responsible by 2024 to achieve goals aimed at making Swampscott more livable for old and young residents.
The foundation anchoring those goals is the $30,000 needs assessment approved in May by Town Meeting. To conduct the assessment, the town turned to University of Massachusetts-Boston researcher Dr. Caitlyn Cole.
Cole’s research reached one-third of town residents who are 55 years old and older. In 10 years, according to the survey conducted as part of the assessment, one in three town residents will be 60 or older. Perhaps even more revealing in terms of town planning and preparedness is the survey’s finding that an overwhelming number of older town residents want to keep living in Swampscott.
That revelation translates into plenty of work for the All Ages Committee and, by extension, town residents interested in Swampscott’s future. Addressing an aging local population’s needs means talking about housing, transportation, caregiving, community engagement and social inclusion, said Powell.
Helping aging residents remain in any community means discussing and addressing how seniors can remain in their homes and, if they need to downsize, providing them with housing options.
Similar discussions apply to helping seniors who no longer drive but need transportation options to prevent them from becoming isolated.
Thankfully, membership in the AARP network allows Swampscott to access a variety of programs and services with technical assistance available to the All Ages Committee as well as opportunities to participate in expert-led webinars and draw upon the experience accumulated in other AARP network communities.
To his credit, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald laid out the challenge facing the All Ages Committee succinctly when he said: “We have to be thinking much more carefully about folks who want to stay in Swampscott.”
