BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—How can people of all ages and stages live in safety, comfort and dignity in Englewood?
That was the focus of the Jan. 30 meeting of the Age-Friendly Englewood Coalition.
Over 40 members, partners, and residents, gathered at the Community Baptist Church in Englewood on Wednesday morning to discuss what is working, what is not working, and what should be done in the short and long term.
The meeting was led by Janet Sharma, the coordinator of Age-Friendly Englewood and president of the Englewood Rotary Club.
To begin the 10 a.m. meeting, attendees were asked to introduce themselves.
The roster of community leaders included: Age-Friendly Englewood Assistant Coordinator JoEllen Knie; Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living (SESCIL) President Scott Reddin; Englewood Councilman-at-Large Charles Cobb; Metro Community Church Pastor Sanetta Ponton; Bergen Family Center Vice President Liz Corsini; Northern New Jersey Community Foundation Founding President Michael Shannon; and Flat Rock Brook Nature Center Executive Director Steve Wiessner.
They were joined by Dean Brown, manager of the Bristal Home for Assisted Living and representatives from Englewood Health, the Englewood Department of Health, Englewood Library, the Bergen County YMCA and other organizations.
Sharma began the meeting by outlining Age-Friendly Englewood’s mission and guiding principles, with emphasis on viewing the aging population as a community asset and engaging all sectors of the community to build upon existing resources and activities.
The plan is organized around what the organization AARP calls “eight domains of livability”: housing, outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, community support for health services, civic participation and employment, social participation and inclusion and communication and information.
Under the heading of, “what’s working,” the key points that were made were:
• The ongoing technology training that is offered by SESCIL. The iStore on Van Brunt Street is also hold a training class for 10 seniors on how to use an iPhone and an iPad.
• The intergenerational programs currently being offered by the Bergen County YMCA and the Bergen Family Center.
• The caregiver support at the Bergen Family Center both in English and Spanish.
• The International Transportation Network (ITN)’s expanding efforts to recruit divers in this area.
• The use of volunteers to return books to the library.
• Offering services for disabled individuals.
• The Age-Friendly Englewood newsletter and links.
• Coverage of local events by Northern Valley Press.
• Continued promotion of the Englewood Police Department’s “Good Morning Englewood” program.
• Transportation for seniors by the Actor’s Fund, the Kaplan JCC and area churches. Englewood Health will also provide transport for patients.
• “Rewriting Retirement” will be available at the Englewood Library.
• Free copies of Age-Friendly Englewood’s “At Your Service” booklet are available at the Englewood Library and many other venues.
• Seniors are offered free tickets to selected shows at the bergenPAC Theater.
Moving forward, Sharma announced that Age-Friendly Englewood is looking to recruit volunteers to make seniors feel useful and to using a buddy system overseen by a social services coordinator.
A major subject that was discussed was the importance of having retired people mentor and speak to children to inspire them with their life’s work and achievements.
Another issue that was addressed was the need to study parks to see how well seniors can navigate them. It was also mentioned that the MacKay Park Skating Arena offers free skate time to seniors every week.
One attendee suggested that Englewood should host a dance party, and Redding said that Mayor Michael Wildes is planning is an all-day Englewood festival in conjunction with the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks.
There was mention of the Community Chest’s program to provide nutrition classes and demonstrations to seniors in various locations, such as ShopRite. On the subject of supermarkets, it was also suggested that ShopRite should have in store delivery service.
Another topic involved hearing aids and the fact that New Jersey Eye and Ear is eager to assist Age-Friendly Englewood in this respect.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Councilman Cobb said that all constituents need to do a better job with communication because “Government and nonprofits don’t have enough to get the word out.”
As such, it was suggested that Age-friendly Englewood hold one or more networking breakfasts.
In addition to the agenda, a signup sheet was passed around asking for people to join the Age-friendly Englewood Advisory Committee.
Sharma also announced that Age-Friendly Englewood is actively recruiting ambassadors.
“To amplify these conversations, we need more voices to join in,” she said. “We are asking everyone interested in the initiative to help raise the profile of this important mission, particularly with their digital worlds.”
To that end, each attendee received a list of how they could become involved, spread the word and listing the next steps to take. This included:
• Forward Age-Friendly Englewood email blasts to your own Englewood groups.
• Encourage your friends and neighbors to join the Age-Friendly Englewood mailing list.
• Share Age-Friendly Englewood posts on Facebook.
• Retweet Age-Friendly Englewood’s news and announcements on Twitter.
• Being sure to tag any officials/organizations you think need to hear the organization’s social media messages.
• Share Englewood events that you know about and attend.
• Take pictures and video of any event related to Age-Friendly Englewood so the organization can post them.
The Jan. 30 Age-Friendly Englewood Coalition meeting was extremely productive and well received.
It demonstrated how this organization is making a huge impact on the health, happiness and wellbeing of the community’s aging population!
Photo by Hillary Viders