PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – Two projects in Washington state have been selected for the 2018 AARP Community Challenge grant program.

The Community Challenge, now in its second year, awards funding for projects that make cities more livable for people of all ages.

The Seattle Neighborhood Greenways project is helping to make an area of north Seattle more walkable, and Kitsap County is using the grant to renovate a community space for the region's tiny home village.

Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido says the project is helping folks recognize they have neighbors in need and is also bringing community members together.

"It's helped build a sense of community across several layers of our community and so that we're building community in a different sense than we had before and it's really fabulous," Garrido states.

The community room will provide space for village members to cook and participate in social activities such as education and wellness classes.

The pilot community will have about 14 tiny homes. The village is a project of Homes for All, a Kitsap County coalition of government agencies, the faith community and businesses to provide tiny homes to residents in need.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Director Gordon Padelford says his organization is looking for cheap solutions for making neighborhoods pedestrian friendly. He says at the current rate of funding, it would take Seattle 300 years to build out all of its sidewalks.

He adds that neighborhoods without sidewalks can be intimidating for children and that older Washington pedestrians are disproportionately affected by collisions with cars.

The greenways project will calm traffic on neighborhood streets through speed humps, diverters and other inexpensive solutions.

"Thereby creating a safe enough neighborhood that folks feel like they can walk in and garden in the front yard and let their kids go to the neighbor's house and play and all that sort of thing that we want to see," Padelford explains.

Amanda Frame, associate director of community outreach for AARP Washington, says work on these projects already is under way.

"This is just allowing both of these particular projects to be able to leverage funding from AARP to really act as a catalyst to improve what they're already working on and taking quick-action steps to be able to build momentum within the community," she explains.

In total, AARP will distribute $1.3 million dollars to 129 projects across the country. Projects must be completed by Nov. 5.


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A local "Meals on Wheels" organization is forging ahead with an event to provide meals and personal care items to seniors in four Illinois counties, despite the looming uncertainty about federal funding helping to run the programs.

"March for Meals" brings community members and elected officials together, who volunteer to deliver and serve nutritious meals to seniors in Cook, Grundy, Kendall and Will counties.

Caitlin Wilson, manager of the Schaumburg Community Café, said they also help pack care bags to deliver to those who are homebound.

"Just to know that they're not alone," Wilson explained. "That we are here and they're not left just at home, that we are thinking about them."

Nationally, March for Meals commemorates the Older Americans Act and the funding it provides for nutrition programs for people in their 60s and older. The Illinois March for Meals event is March 31 at the Schaumburg Community Café.

Seniors make up about 22% of Illinois' population. Many statewide programs, including Meals on Wheels, rely on federal funding to keep running.

Every five years, Congress needs to reauthorize the Older Americans Act. The last time it happened was in 2020 and the funding expired in Sept. 2024. Wilson said the need is clear, even if its future is unclear under the new administration.

"We have seniors that come that this is their only source of socialization and even nutrition," Wilson pointed out. "It's definitely important that we continue our goal in the community, because we have those seniors that really depend on these programs."

Wilson added events like these are crucial to raising awareness about the need for senior services, and this year, the additional challenge of potential federal funding cuts.

"It's definitely a huge program and it is a huge impact, with the seniors not sure what's going on and what's going to happen," Wilson emphasized. "But we are here and it's important that we stay here."

Michigan is home to more than 470,000 veterans, yet many have never accessed the military benefits to which they are entitled. The gap in support prompted a local war veteran to take action.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 200 Michigan veterans died by suicide, well above the state's average, and the number is growing.

Joshua Parish, president of the nonprofit service organization VETLIFE and an Iraq War veteran, is working to change it. His organization, which started in 2018, provides veterans with sustainable resources, free events and community support to help them navigate civilian life. Parish said one of their flagship events called VetFest attracts more than 3,000 people at each event.

"We have 60 resource providers that help connect the dots," Parish explained. "What we're seeing is one month after the VetFest event, a 60% increase in veterans going down to their local resources, which is what we want."

Parish emphasized his main goal is to educate and empower veterans to be their own best advocate. He believes by doing so, it will decrease the veteran suicide rate.

More than 8 million U.S. veterans are 65 and older, nearly half of the veteran population. Many face isolation, depression and struggles transitioning to civilian life, even decades later. As a veteran, Parish has battled mental health challenges himself. He added many feel a loss of purpose and betrayed by the government they once served.

"If you can give these veterans or help cultivate the sense of purpose, the sense of identity, and just make them feel like a person again, I feel like that's going to drastically reduce the veterans' suicide rate," Parish contended.

Many veterans rely on VA pensions, Social Security or disability benefits, making it crucial for them to know and access the resources they have earned.

Oregon's population, along with the rest of the country, is getting older. Within 10 years there will be more Oregonians age 65 and older than children younger than 18.

New legislation would establish a task force to create a blueprint for the state to prepare for the massive change.

Bandana Shrestha, state director of AARP Oregon, said having an older population will affect every sector of the state including housing, transportation and health. She emphasized the task force would bring representatives from many of these sectors to the table.

"It's not just the needs that we're going to be responding to," Shrestha pointed out. "People talk about aging as a net deficit in some ways. Aging also can be very positive."

Shrestha noted older adults benefit the state by contributing billions of dollars in unpaid care to other adults and children, as well as volunteer hours to schools and nonprofits. Public testimony for the bill has been overwhelmingly positive.

Rep. Mari Watanabe, D-Bethany, a sponsor of the bill, said the shifting age demographics will also affect the state's workforce and older people who want or need to keep working will be able to help fill in gaps.

"They bring skills, they bring knowledge, they bring their acumen that they've learned all through the years," Watanabe outlined. "To keep them in the workplace would be great for Oregon."

Shrestha stressed the need for financial support as more families care for older adults at home. She also highlighted the rising homelessness among older adults and urges state investment in housing for aging in place. Despite all the work needing to be done, Shrestha is optimistic about the plan the legislation lays out.

"It's proactive," Shrestha acknowledged. "It's not waiting 'til there is an emergency. We still have a nice timeline to work towards it. And everybody should be invested because it's about our future."