Age Friendly Berkshires Newsletter

A great place to grow up and a great place to grow old!

Hello Friends and Neighbors!

Age Friendly Berkshires is an open coalition of municipalities, businesses, non-profits and community members working cooperatively to improve the region's built and social environments, to better support people as they grow up and grow old here. Please join us - we can't DO Age Friendly Berkshires without YOU!

Age Friendly Berkshires is generously sponsored by:

Upcoming Events & News

OLLI University Day: Living Longer, Living Better: Changing the Culture of Aging in Berkshire County -- Thursday, August 15, 2019 - 9:30-3:30 p.m.

OLLI's UNIVERSITY DAY 2019 is coming up fast! Join us for a day of learning and thought-provoking discussions around "Aging in Place". This year's event kicks off with a talk by anti-ageism advocate Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. Morning and afternoon panel discussions with various themes related to Age-Friendly Berkshires' goals - making social connections, volunteering, civic participation, healthcare for a lifetime and more! Delicious luncheon with roundtable panel discussions and plenty of time for Q&A. The day will be capped off by a performance by VOICES spoken word Ensemble. Please join us at University Day! Register at berkshireolli.org or call 413-236-2190. Current OLLI Members $40/Non-Members $55

You don't want to miss this one!

Please SAVE THE DATE & SHARE! Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 10:00-11:30 a.m. at the Mary Spitzer Senior Center, 116 Ashland Street, North Adams, MA.

VILLAGE Formation Meeting for north Berkshire!

Let's get started forming a helpful VILLAGE for north Berkshire! If you are not yet familiar with the VILLAGE concept, a Village is alot like a club - that adults of any age can join (for little or no cost) in order to meet new people, enjoy organized activities of many kinds, get referrals to trusted home or professional services and get help from Village volunteers, to complete small but necessary tasks around the home. Village members decide what services they need to remain living safely and comfortably in their homes/community andthe Village organization arranges to provide those services. Villages are sprouting up all across the USA, to help baby-boomers and younger folks too, to age-in-community -- but better!

From our 2018 Village Community Conversations and Survey, we know there's alot of interest! So please come out and discuss what we need to do to get going. Any adult from north County is invited to attend (even if you're just curious!) Come and bring a friend, your Mom, Dad, Grandparents too!

VILLAGE Formation Meeting -- Wed. 9/25/19, 10:00 a.m. Mary Spitzer Senior Center, 116 Ashland St, North Adams, MA 01247. For directions and to RSVP, call 413-662-3125.

8 AREAS OF LIVABILITY

This is the "Progress Report" section of our Newsletter, following the 8 Areas of Livability that are the focus of the AFB Action Plan. If you'd like more information, email us atagefriendlyberkshires@gmail.com or message us via our website agefriendlyberkshires.com.

Transportation: Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is piloting a new, weekly evening express bus service this summer, on the #21 bus route, serving South County. The bus runs from the Pittsfield Intermodal Center to the Big Y in Great Barrington, with stops in Lenox and Stockbridge, between the hours of 5:30-10:30 p.m. Hop a ride to support this new evening service! Download an updated schedule flyer from our website here: https://agefriendlyberkshires.com/news-events/reports-useful-info/.

Housing: We just got a small batch of Berkshire County Residential Aging in Place Workbooks delivered! The workbook and companion video on Youtube, are a handy guide to help you assess and then plan home improvements, that will help you stay independent, safe and comfortable in your own home. The BC Aging In Place Workbook isFREE, while supplies last! To order, email agefriendlyberkshires@gmail.com.

Community & Health Services: Are you a business that DELIVERS?! AFB is compiling a town-by-town database of home delivery and home-based services, to help people age-in-place securely and comfortably - knowing that help is just a phone call away. If you are a service provider (or can recommend some good ones!) please give us a call 413-442-1521 x16, or reach us via our website contact form at agefriendlyberkshires.com. If you'd like to help develop your town's list, let us know. Thank you!

Our mailing address is:

Age Friendly Berkshires

c/o Berkshires Tomorrow Inc.