Prepare for the Aging Boom at 'Empowering Communities' Conference

News from NYS Association of Homes & Services for the Aging

For more information contact: Kris Jensen Van Heste, 518-449-2707

The percentage of New Yorkers age 60 and older will skyrocket over the next decade.

State, national experts lead 50 workshops focused on paths to making 'aging-friendly' communities

Are you ready?

Can tomorrow's seniors live well in your community?

Can your community thrive if the aging baby boomers leave to seek greener pastures for aging?

Join your colleagues and get prepared for one of the most influential demographic changes the state has ever seen.

We'll provide you with tools to ensure that you can face the challenges, develop strategies and embrace the opportunities created by this major population change.

"Empowering Communities for Successful Aging", Nov. 12-13 at the Saratoga Hilton and Conference Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., brings together state and national experts in 50 workshops on every imaginable facet of aging issues your community will face:

• Physical: Housing, cohousing, renovation and redevelopment, health, personal safety, accessibility
• Financial: Affordable housing funding, money management, addressing poverty
• Emotional: Isolation, loneliness, mental health needs
• Civic: Tapping the senior resource and providing opportunitie
• Social: Innovative interaction, community involvement.

The plenary sessions and workshops encompass the spectrum of aging issues with innovative programs, forward-thinking strategies and the tools you'll need to retain your older residents as the boomers swell the ranks from 3.2 million seniors today to a projected 4.3 million by 2020.

Here are just a few of the dozens of workshops offered:

• Grantmakers in Aging: The EngAGEment Initiative - GIA Executive Director Carol Farquhar shows you how to educate the philanthropic community interested in the field of aging.
• Senior Cohousing: Taking Root in America-Learn how proximity, cooperation and companionship dovetail in this exciting new option for senior living from Charles Durrett, author and architect.
• Broome County: Innovative Approaches for Community Collaboration - You'll hear from an Area Office for the Aging, a nonprofit and a state elected official who collaborate and help meet the aging community's needs.

Collaborate with, learn from and challenge each other as we face this new frontier together.

Conference cost is just $95 and includes two lunches, breakfast and an evening dessert reception. Up to 10 sessions are offered in each time slot, so register several staff members to make sure you benefit from every workshop.

To register, visit www.empoweringnycommunities.org.

Jointly sponsored by AARP, New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and the New York State Office for the Aging.

Produced by the Albany Guardian Society.