LANSING, Mich. – A growing movement in Michigan and around the world is working to ensure communities are able to serve the needs of people of all ages.

Eight cities and towns in the state are members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. They have committed to creating a place to live that is inclusive and considerate of residents from all walks of life and of any age.

Paula Cunningham, state director of AARP Michigan, says safe, accessible living especially is important for older Michiganders.

"In just six years, by 2025, there will be more people over the age of 65 in Michigan than under the age of 18,” she points out. “And we don't believe that folks are paying enough attention to what's coming in terms of this older population and how prevalent they are going to be throughout not just Michigan but our country and we need to prepare for that."

Cunningham says becoming age-friendly means having walkable streets that are equally safe for a person pushing a baby stroller or using a cane.

Other features include accessible housing and transportation, and outdoor space for community activities, which she notes many cities and towns already are working to improve.

Cunningham says other goals for age-friendly communities are to ensure respect and social inclusion, improved access to health care, and easy ways to access communication and information methods.

"There are a lot of rural communities in Michigan that don't even have access to broadband,” she states. “An age-friendly community would make sure that with tele-health and all the things on the horizon that everyone would have access to the communication and technology that they need."

AARP Michigan, Michigan State University, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and many lawmakers are encouraging the governor to declare Michigan age-friendly.

Cunningham says the recognition would make Michigan a more attractive place to live.

"You don't want folks leaving your community,” she stresses. “You want everyone to stay in the community as much as possible and age in place and feel comfortable there that they have opportunities and access to the things that make them live the best life that they can possibly live."

Four states, 378 cities and towns, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the AARP Age-Friendly Communities effort.

By Eduardo Miranda Strobel / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Adults 55 and older compose 23% of Ohio's workforce, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

This population will peak between now and 2030, said Kelly Fuller, senior vice president of the Columbus Chamber Foundation.

"The number of older workers are increasing in Ohio," Fuller said. "In fact, when you look at Ohio compared to other states across the nation, we skew a bit higher."

Older workers benefit the state in several ways, said Jamie Carmichael, chief program officer of the Ohio Department of Aging. They contribute expertise gained over years of life and labor. They have developed qualities like patience, a strong work ethic and a high level of motivation driven by personal achievement.

"Employers in Ohio really do have an opportunity to leverage those strengths together to support their business goals," Carmichael said. "So older adults, that baby boomer generation, is really known for valuing hard work. They work well with leaders who are coaches. They have really strong interpersonal skills and value that interpersonal communication."

Carmichael said there are myths regarding older adults in the workforce that can harm their employment. She said that a misconception is, for example, that older workers are frequently sick and less productive, but in reality, they use fewer sick days than their younger counterparts.

"There's a number of, I think, misconceptions that we're working here at [the Ohio Department of Aging] to help people overcome," she said.

Fuller said employers may need to consider creating accommodation policies to address how aging affects people's bodies differently. She said they could adapt a job done standing to be done seated through part of it or an on-site position to be done remotely or hybrid.

"A lot of older workers are looking for very much the same thing all-age workers are looking for, which is that flexibility in the workforce, in the workplace, which we saw really go into overdrive from 2020 to the present time, where regardless of what age we are, that flexibility is really important because it allows us to maintain a good life-work balance," Fuller said.

As retirement-age Ohioans choose to return or continue to work, some resources can help them adapt.

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides paid training to Ohioans 55 and older who want to return to the workforce, said LaTasha Johnson, the Youngstown regional workforce development manager for VANTAGE Aging.

The program is a partnership between VANTAGE Aging, the Ohio Department of Aging and other organizations. SCSEP places participants in part-time roles at local non-profit and public organizations, earning minimum wage while gaining work experience.

"Most older workers want to only work part-time, and I think there's nothing wrong with that," Johnson said. "They've put in their work for many years, and more employers could be more accommodating with just being a little bit more flexible and less rigid with the traditional work hours."

Johnson said the program updates older adults' skills and assists them with obtaining recent work experience to make them more qualified for employers.

"Our hope is that everyone would leave our program with resume, job search skills, things like that," she said. "So they're job-ready when they do eventually leave our program and find employment."

Johnson said she found through her research that some benefits of hiring older workers are their communication skills, reliability and willingness to learn. She said these workers tend to switch jobs less than younger workers.

Carmichael said employers should learn to recognize that those later in their careers have years of experience to offer and can help mentor younger workers. She said putting older workers in mentorship is an effective strategy that helps them feel connected to the workplace.
"Employment isn't just about income, right? It's about the dignity of work," Carmichael said. "It's about social connectedness and mental health. And so we want to create those opportunities as much as we can."


This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

Aging brings with it new questions on how we can live our best lives and a new book could help people answer some of those questions.

One of the most important focuses is on caregiving.

Debra Whitman is author of "The Second Fifty: Answers to the Seven Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond." She's originally from Electric City, Washington, and is an alumna of Gonzaga University. Whitman said when she reached age 50, she had a lot of questions. She noted caregiving is one of the tricky questions, especially for caregivers.

"Many people have to hire somebody in but that's extremely expensive," Whitman pointed out. "Nursing homes and long-term care facilities are extremely expensive. So, far too many people have to quit their job in order to care for somebody that they love."

Whitman noted there are more than 820,000 caregivers assisting a loved one in Washington state, more than one in 10 residents. Whitman is also chief policy officer for AARP. The organization has resources for caregiving on its website.

Whitman acknowledged Washington state is excelling in the caregiving arena in part because of the program WA Cares, which recently survived a ballot measure that would have gutted it. She said WA Cares lets people age at home.

"It offers some resources in order to pay either for the family member who has to take time off of work, to buy things to make their homes more accessible, or to pay a paid caregiver," Whitman outlined. "This is an incredible program that you have in Washington."

Whitman stressed caregivers need time off too, and people who are not caregivers can help with that.

"Sometimes just giving somebody an hour off to go get a haircut for themselves or to go to the doctor for themselves," Whitman added. "How can we as a community step in, give somebody a ride to a doctor's office? Lots of the different things that people need as they age."

Pennsylvania voters aged 50 and older are expected to play a pivotal role in the upcoming election, motivated by key issues, and could affect the results.

At a recent AARP Pennsylvania Women's Roundtable, suburban women 50 and older discussed top concerns, with an AARP poll revealing 60% felt the country is on the wrong track.

Betty from Chester County agreed and said coming out of the pandemic, inflation rose 8%, affecting families and the economy.

"Those prices that are out there, coming down very slowly or perhaps they're not increasing as much because the inflation is higher," Betty observed. "That is the difficult part to understand for families that have to buy groceries. Groceries are 25% more."

The AARP poll showed 94% of women are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports making sure workers get the Social Security they paid into and earned through a lifetime of hard work.

The poll found the biggest cost concerns to voters 50+ in Pennsylvania are food, utilities, health care and prescription drug costs.

Colleen from Bucks County said health care costs in Pennsylvania look promising and are headed in the right direction.

"One of the things that I'm seeing are some reductions in our health care costs, especially through Medicare, and with the opportunities to see that across the board," Colleen pointed out. "But for now, through Medicare, we're seeing that, and that's going well."

Elizabeth of Mount Lebanon in Allegheny County said leaders do not seem to be listening to communities' concerns. She added a big part of the issue also stems from the misinformation and disinformation spread by candidates, leaving people uncertain about who truly represents their perspective and interests in daily life.

"I am of Puerto Rican heritage, and I find that not only in Pittsburgh but even in Pennsylvania, during the elections, everyone's out looking for Latino votes," Elizabeth explained. "I don't think that the Latino population as a whole is listened to, except for to say negative things about immigrants."

Charlotte is also from Mount Lebanon. She recommended policymakers be more aware of the resources for grandparents who are caregivers of their grandchildren because of the opioid crisis. She added she has been taking care of her grandson for quite some time. In Pennsylvania alone, more than 235,000 grandparents are raising grandchildren.

"The opioid crisis has left a generation of children who have great needs," Charlotte emphasized. "There was settlement money provided to Pennsylvania, and I did look into that, but of the $73 million of the opioid settlement money, none of it was earmarked for these families."

The poll found 71% of women 50+ and 70% of suburban women are more likely to vote for a candidate who would help provide a tax credit for unpaid family caregivers who work to help cover the costs associated with caring for a family member.


get more stories like this via email