AARP Georgia Presents a Macon-Bibb Age-Friendly Town Hall to Discuss the New Designation

Macon-Bibb was the first designated Age-Friendly Community in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, an affiliate of the World Health Organization.  A Macon-Bibb Age-Friendly Town Hall will be held at the Methodist Home, 304 Pierce Ave., on Friday, May 16, from 9 a.m. -1 p.m., and lunch will be included.  The Town Hall will be held in the Rumford Center, and there is no cost to attend or for the lunch.

To register for the Macon-Bibb Age-Friendly Town Hall, please go to http://aarp.cvent.com/Macon-BibbAgeFriendlyTownHall.

Well-designed, livable communities promote health and sustain economic growth, and they make for happier, healthier residents of all ages.  AARP advances efforts to help people live easily and comfortably in their homes and communities, and it encourages older residents to take an active role and have their voices heard. This will be a great opportunity for community residents to learn what the next steps are in the designation for Macon-Bibb.

A 28-member Age-Friendly Advisory Council appointed by Mayor Robert Reichert and former Chairman Sam Hart has been working in the domain areas developed by WHO for community life.  The eight domains include outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services.  Domain leads will present information on actions and activities that have taken place since the designation was awarded in April of 2012.  AARP GA staff members and volunteers will also present on upcoming events planned for Macon-Bibb in the areas of Fraud Watch, Caregiving, Driver Safety, Faith-Based opportunities, and others.

“We also encourage residents to really look at their neighborhoods and take some steps to make walking in the area safer,” said Karen Cooper, Associate State Director for Community Outreach for AARP GA.  Information will be shared at the May 16 Town Hall on how community members can survey their own neighborhoods.

“We will also be using a remote polling system to capture residents’ opinion about measuring community quality of life for all ages,” Cooper said.  This will be done through survey questions which will help continue to strengthen the foundation of the required Action Plan that has been submitted to AARP and WHO to gain an expansion of the two-year designation for an additional three years.

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