A common flaw in many “how-to” guides is devoting too much time and space on the “why’ instead of the “how.”
The Municipal Toolkit for Building an Age-Friendly Community written and published this spring by the leaders of Age-Friendly Ridgewood doesn’t make that mistake. In fact, it goes beyond the mere “how” to the “how exactly.”
From sharing model ordinances and sample program fliers to spelling out planning techniques and policy strategies, the toolkit offers a department-by-department primer on how to infuse age-friendly thinking into all elements of municipal governance.
“When we first had the idea to create a toolkit, we realized that there are a lot of publications and materials available that detail the reasons why communities should launch age-friendly community initiatives but not a lot of practical advice and suggestions for how to go about it,” said Beth Abbott, co-chair of Age-Friendly Ridgewood.
“We really tried to focus on the specific steps that each municipal department can take to become more age-friendly,” Abbott added. “If you just speak in generalities, you are not going to get the buy-in you need from the municipal staff who know best how to bring about some of the changes you seek.”
The guide – which Abbott co-authored with her Age-Friendly Ridgewood co-chair Sheila Brogan – offers separate sections with suggestions for steps to take in partnership with each municipal agency and other vital organizations in a community.
The two veteran leaders hope the guide will be helpful to new communities just embarking on age-friendly efforts. The timing could not be more opportune, as the New Jersey Department of Human Services just announced in June a second grant opportunity for NJ towns that want to launch new initiatives, in addition to the 17 communities who were just awarded state funds in March.
Abbott and Brogan have been reaching out to leaders of the new communities that received those state grants to share the toolkit and offer their mentorship.
“In working on this toolkit, we reflected back on what was most helpful when we were in the early stages of launching Age-Friendly Ridgewood, and we realized how much we benefited from sharing ideas and strategies with other age-friendly communities in the region,” Brogan said.
“We hope to offer new leaders some ideas on where to begin to focus their efforts, as well as some guidance on how to build a strong network of support within their communities.”
Age-Friendly Ridgewood was first launched in 2016 and counts among its major successes the village’s creation of a social worker position, extended senior bus hours, pedestrian safety and walkability improvements, and a variety of new events and programs aimed at promoting health, wellness and social connections in this village of 26,000 people.
A key strategy in the Ridgewood initiative’s early days was to hold separate meetings with all municipal department staffs, not just the ones that intersect with older residents’ lives in more obvious ways, such as the health and transportation departments.
“What we learned over time with our initiative is that it can’t all be driven from the top,” Abbott said. “As much as we appreciated all the support we had from the Village Manager, it was important we establish strong connections with municipal departments and with other key community entities like the Ridgewood Library and the Chamber of Commerce.”
Abbott and Brogan found that meeting with agencies such as the building and engineering departments, or with first responders like the fire, police and emergency management departments, often led to ideas being generated by municipal staff members.
“Several of the ideas shared in the toolkit came from the department heads themselves,” said Abbott, citing the installation of handrails in municipal buildings as one example.
Age-Friendly Ridgewood – through its initial survey, focus groups and interactions with older adults – had established itself as a reliable community partner by the time COVID-19 emerged, which allowed it to play a key role in establishing a pandemic response coordinating committee of key community leaders and stakeholder organizations.
“That idea to establish a coordinating committee came from our interactions with our age-friendly peers,” Brogan said. “We knew Age-Friendly Englewood had set up such a committee and that it was working well.”
As Brogan and Abbott set about compiling their toolkit, they once again leaned into the valuable peer network established by leaders of Age-Friendly North Jersey alliance.
In addition to including concrete examples from Ridgewood, the toolkit contains many linked resources to programs and policies established in other communities, such as Fair Lawn’s youth volunteer corps program, West Orange’s Operation Blue Angel program, Glen Rock’s senior citizens advisory board bylaws and Teaneck’s new age-friendly community center. The guide also links to many of the resources created by state and regional organizations that have helped shaped the age-friendly movement in New Jersey, such as AARP Livable Communities, New Jersey Future, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well, and Rutgers Hub for Aging Collaboration.
“What you learn in doing age-friendly work is that something that is right for one community might not be right for another community,” Brogan said. “When first beginning their age-friendly work, communities can benefit from some explicit examples of what has been tried and what has succeeded. These examples are useful tools to start building with.”