AARP Vermont

Nearly 700 residents of Orleans County, including over 300 from Newport, responded to a citywide survey of livability needs and issues spotlighting a number of key findings as the city works towards becoming more “age friendly”. The findings will help inform the work of the Newport Age Friendly Advisory Council as they formulate recommendations and develop an action plan moving forward. The areas of focus in the survey centered on the following:

Join us in Rutland, Morrisville, Bellows Falls or Manchester

Please help AARP improve access to voting for people of all ages. We need your voice! Please contact your Senator (800-322-5616) and ask him or her to vote for the Same-Day Voter Registration legislation (S.29) so that eligible voters can register to vote on Election Day.

Mr. Johnson, a former farmer, is not allowed outside for walks. You hear rumors that there is not enough staff at your local nursing home. Would you like to have a positive impact on situations like these, but don't know how?

Four small organizations with big plans have been selected to receive Community Action Grants from AARP Vermont supporting their efforts to make Newport a more “Age-Friendly” city. In partnering with AARP Vermont, Newport has committed to embrace the changing demographics of an aging population by focusing on safe, walkable streets, better housing and transportation options, access to key services and community engagement opportunities for all ages. These Community Action Grants support that direction by funding small, grassroots organizations that are working to advance the Age Friendly movement.

Elliott Greenblott of Brattleboro, VT participated in the graduation ceremony for the AARP’s Volunteer Leadership Institute or VLI in Washington, DC in February. He was joined by 32 other exceptional volunteers from all across the country. Richard Harwood, founder and president of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, was a guest speaker.

We often joke about memory loss but what happens when it becomes more than a senior moment? What is the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia – on the person, the caregiver, society, and the economy? And what can we do about it?

"On behalf of our members and all existing ratepayers in Chittenden and Franklin counties, AARP is pleased to learn that Vermont Gas Systems (VGS) has made the decision to drop its plans for Phase 2 of the gas pipeline project. The determination by VGS and International Paper (IP) that the project is not economically viable is a prudent one. However, it will have a direct impact on the cost of Phase 1 – a cost being paid for by current VGS customers. With Phase 1 costs already estimated to nearly double, this new development makes it even more difficult to prove that the greater good is being served by a project that will bring service to only 3,000 Addison County customers. According to VGS testimony, the rate increase for customers in Chittenden and Franklin counties will now go up at least 10% due to the elimination of Phase 2. This will represent the third substantial cost increase on a project that is just barely underway.

Today AARP applauds the quick, bipartisan action on S. 192, the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) with Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Patty Murray (D-WA), and also cosponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Isaakson (R-GA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

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