City considers plan to improve life for seniors

NEWPORT — The City Council is expected to take up a resolution soon on whether it would like the city to be designated as an AARP “Age-Friendly Community.”

A total of 318 cities nationwide have gone through the process, including Boston and Salem, Massachusetts, and three states have achieved the certification: Massachusetts, New York and Colorado.

A grant from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation has allowed volunteers in Newport to do a lot of the groundwork and to analyze data that shows where the city needs to do more work to make it more livable.

The grant allowed Maureen Maigret, who is currently the vice chairwoman of the Rhode Island Long Term Care Coordinating Council, to review the city’s Comprehensive Land Use plan and determine where it aligns with age-friendly policies. She also has discussed the initiative with people in the community who are led by Mary Alice Smith, interim coordinator of the Newport for All Ages Initiative.

Maigret, who is a former director of the state Department of Elderly Affairs and served in the state House of Representatives for 10 years, presented her findings to the City Council during a workshop Wednesday night. Council members were receptive.

Mayor Jamie Bova said the policies and changes being advocated would benefit city residents of all ages.

Councilwoman Jeanne-Marie Napolitano said AARP provided valuable advice when Broadway was being redesigned, a design that has been widely praised.

The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities is an affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program, an international effort launched in 2006 to help cities prepare for rapid population aging and the parallel trend of urbanization.

“An age-friendly world enables people of all ages to actively participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect, regardless of their age,” says the mission statement. “It is a place that makes it easy for older people to stay connected to people that are important to them.”

Of all Newport residents, 21.5 percent are over the age of 60, meaning the city has more residents in that age category than under 21. That percentage of the older population could double by 2040 if state trends continue, Maigret said.

She praised the city’s comprehensive plan that already includes policies that align with age-friendly initiatives.

For example, it says: “the city shall consider establishing a Senior Advisory Commission to identify the needs of the senior population, and advocate for and support appropriate services for the population."

Also, the comprehensive plan says the city “shall advocate for special populations in its efforts to plan, program, design, and implement a comprehensive transportation and circulation system, including people who are older, have physical and/or mental health challenges, and/or limited income."

The city still has some work to do, according to data included in the presentation.

AARP’s Public Policy Institute studied data about Newport and gave the city a total "Livability Score" of 54 on a scale of 1 to 100.

In the seven different livability categories, the city did best with health, with a score of 64. The other categories are neighborhoods, transportation, housing, engagement, environment and opportunity, which looks at “inclusion and possibilities.” The city scored worse in the opportunity category with a score of 38.

If the City Council passes a resolution to pursue the age-friendly designation, the mayor would submit a letter and application to AARP to join the Age-Friendly Network.

The city then would plan and conduct a needs assessment, develop a “Strategic Action Plan,” with short and long-range goals, and implement the plan. The city would report to AARP on its progress. This is all voluntary and incurs no obligations to the city, speakers said.

The van Beuren grant allowed much of the preliminary work to be done, interim coordinator Smith said.

Maigret said the city could apply for an additional grant from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, which has a June deadline for a 2020 grant.

Also possible are a Rhode Island Foundation grant and a Tufts Health Plan Foundation 2019 Momentum Grant, which provides up to $10,000 for promoting age-friendly projects.

AARP Community Challenge grants, for which the applications are due April 17, would provide funds for community-based “quick-action” projects related to housing, transportation, smart cities and public spaces.

“The goal is to spark change and build momentum to improve livability for people of all ages,” Maigret said.

 sflynn@newportri.com