Melanie Ferris
Published: 2015
Total Pages: 88
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Age-friendly communities are places that "actively involve, value, and support older adults, both active and frail, with infrastructure and services that effectively accommodate their changing needs" (Alley, Liebig, Banerjee, & Choi, 2007). As a growing number of adults enter retirement, is it important that communities have the infrastructure, services, and supports in place to ensure that residents can continue healthy, vibrant lives in their own homes as long as possible. The Southwest Initiative Foundation (the Foundation) serves an 18-county region in southwest Minnesota that is home to nearly 280,000 residents. In 2014, the Foundation contracted with Wilder Research to conduct an assessment to describe the needs of aging residents in the region. The assessment results are intended to help the Foundation identify potential strategies to support aging residents, including ways to encourage the development of age-friendly communities.