We Need Your Input!

Joanne Donohue, Vice-President, Senior Services

A National Reality 

We Need Your Input—Take a Survey About Senior Centers We are interested in trying to find out why some people don't use senior centers. If you don't currently use a senior center, please take a few minutes to complete this online survey. Your feedback will be very helpful for senior centers now and in the future.     This survey is part of a larger organizing effort to prepare our community for the demographic changes ahead.  For more information about Aging Your Way, please visit our website.

Each day, 10,000 Baby Boomers hit age 60. Their approach to life and to aging is quite different than that of preceding generations. They are more active, outspoken about their needs and expectations and believe they are invincible.

They don't think about aging and don't accept the stigma of the media's stereotypes of seniors. Most critically, they are not planning for their future.

Community resources, currently designed to meet the needs of today's seniors, will not be sufficient in number, capacity or type to meet those of the Baby Boomer generation.

Combine those two factors? Our communities and existing resources are headed for trouble.

A Community-Based Approach

Most Baby Boomers want to be in charge of how and where they age. That means communities must begin now to engage them by asking, "What programs, projects and services does your community need to support you as you age? What can and will you do to ensure those are available?"

This includes:

1. identifying organizations, businesses, religious, civic, service and neighborhood groups, as well as individuals, willing to form partnerships to meet the needs and desires of their fellow community members
2. determining how current providers need to change their operations and develop additional capacity
3. attracting additional resources to support the necessary work
4. encouraging intergenerational and multicultural support systems.

Local Action

Every community is filled with organizations serving the needs of its constituents. Every community has leaders and volunteers interested in strengthening and contributing to the good of the community and its residents.

Through community gatherings, Senior Services will bring people together to:

1. understand the demographics of their community
2. create a new community vision that supports Baby Boomers in aging their way
3. identify the projects needed to realize the vision
4. identify and empower individual action teams that will implement the local projects
5. engage government and non-profits to implement the larger or regional projects.

Care To Join Us?

We are organizing in nine communities, and our first gatherings will be in Southeast Seattle and Shoreline. 

	Learn about the June 14 meeting in Southeast Seattle.
	Learn about the June 29 gathering in Shoreline.

Contact Joanne Donohue if you are interested in attending one of these meetings, or if you would like to be notified of a gathering in your neighborhood.