Senior Services and Forsyth Futures in collaboration with other local community partners held a series of community aging conversations last month to bring seniors, caregivers, professionals and other interested parties together to share their views and perspectives on aging in Forsyth county. The gatherings were fashioned after the world café-style of community feedback model, which allows for the rapid collection of large amounts of information, with maximum input from participants on a wide variety of topics.
“The older population of Forsyth county is growing at an extraordinary rate,” said Lee Covington, president & CEO of Senior Services. “People are living longer and we want to ensure that Forsyth County is prepared to meet the growing and changing needs of people as they age.”
The conversations, held at various locations around the community, attracted more than 120 people interested in sharing their views and perspectives on this important topic and left Covington feeling optimistic. “We were pleased, not only with the number of people who turned up but with the diversity of experiences they brought to the table. It was really encouraging to see.”” The community aging conversations provided a unique opportunity for millennials to sit with baby boomers and to engage in open conversation. “The biggest take away for me is that these older people are still so aware and engaged,” said a younger participant. “I noticed an older woman coming in. She was moving pretty slowly on her cane. When we had a chance to exchange later, I could hardly keep up with her ideas and enthusiasm. I learned a lot today.”
The Community Aging Conversations mark an important step in a collaborative community-wide data collection and research process looking at aging in Forsyth county. The process started with a look at a wide array of publicly available aging data and included a community-wide, randomized telephone survey of 1,000 residents. Committees working on this community project also researched best and promising practices in age friendly communities to help guide their work moving forward. The ultimate goal is to fashion a collective impact movement around making Forsyth County the place to live your best life, especially in your later years.
Forsyth Futures will analyze the collected data with hopes of identifying trends which emerged from the community aging conversations and the survey. The Senior Services steering committee, chaired by Robert Johnson of BB&T will then identify key areas of focus for further action. Senior Services is spearheading this effort as part of its Aging with Purpose initiative and will work with other local partners to deliver a preliminary report on aging in early May.