Exciting News!!!
A BIG thank you to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for unanimously approving our request to join the Age Friendly Communities Network at their April 16th meeting!!! We are so excited to continue exploring creative, collaborative efforts to make our systems and environments more inclusive of and responsive to older adults. Details and opportunities to join in this process – which will ultimately benefit Cook County residents of all ages – are coming soon!
For a brief summary of findings from the community forums and surveys, check out our flyer:
Read the proclamation signed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners:
On Tuesday, March 19, we presented an overview of findings from our community surveys and listening sessions to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. A formal request for resolution and commitment to join the Age Friendly Communities network was then made and accepted at the April 16 Board Meeting! Age Friendly presenters were Grace Grinager and Andrea Tofte from PHHS, Julie Wilson from Care Partners, and Georgia Lane from the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging (AAAA.)
(Our presentation begins at 33:27)
What is the Age Friendly Initiative?
In response to America’s rapidly aging population, AARP launched the Age Friendly initiative in 2012 as part of a broader world-wide effort to make systems and communities more inclusive of and responsive to older adults. Age Friendly Minnesota was launched in 2019, and has invested $2.9 million in grants to help make Minnesota a better place to grow older. In 2023 Cook County received one of these grants to assess needs and inform our decision regarding joining the AARP network of Age Friendly communities.
Why Do We Need Age Friendly Communities?
The rapid transition to an older population is already happening in Minnesota! In 1950, roughly 270,000 Minnesotans were 65 years old or older. In 2020, that number had climbed to nearly 950,000. This demographic transition has greatly accelerated in recent years. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of people aged 65+ in our state increased by about 88,900. The next decade saw an upsurge of 266,000 people in this age group —a nearly three-fold increase! – with an estimated 217,000 more expected to join the 65+ demographic by 2030. Here in Cook County nearly a third of our population (29.3%) is age 65 or older according to 2020 census data, and it is not unreasonable to suppose this number will increase here as it is expected to increase throughout the state. We believe that a community committed to the structures, services and culture necessary to support and value older adults is a community that will benefit people of all ages.
How Does Being an Age Friendly Community Help?
The AARP Age Friendly network provides a structured process to guide change and serve as a catalyst to educate, encourage, promote and recognize improvements that benefit residents of all ages and life stages. An Age Friendly designation can be a strong signal to grantors and other benefactors that our community is committed to the work of collaboration and growth. Age Friendly also offers:
- A road map to make changes in a community
- A way to bring like-minded individuals and organizations together
- A lens to approach ongoing community planning and projects
- An organizing structure to get work done!
Where is Cook County in This Process?
Since October 2023, we’ve been listening to our friends and neighbors share the joys and challenges of aging in Cook County through a series of community forums and an online survey. Forums were held in Grand Portage, Hovland, Grand Marais, Tofte, Schroeder, online via Zoom, and on the Gunflint at Midtrail and Trails End. Findings from the survey and community forums were shared with the Cook County Board of Commissioners on March 19, 2024. A formal request for resolution and commitment to join the Age Friendly Communities network was then made and unanimously approved at the April 16, 2024 meeting!!! Age Friendly Minnesota has provided a grant extension to develop collaborative strategies that address issues we’ve identified through the forums and survey.
Measuring a Community’s Liveability
What does it mean for a community to be friendly and responsive to older adults? Age Friendly communities consider the availability and quality of nine key features commonly referred to as the “9 Domains of Livability.” Forum discussions and survey questions focused on these areas.
Questions and More Information
Reach out to Age Friendly Cook County Project Managers:
Andrea Tofte, Cook County Public Health Educator
andrea.tofte@co.cook.mn.us
Julie Wilson, Care Partners Executive Director
julie@carepartnersofcookcounty.org
Visit the Age Friendly Minnesota website
agefriendlymn.org
View a recording of the January 24th Lunch & Learn presentation regarding Age Friendly Cook County: