Purposeful Aging – 10 Steps to Empowerment

Last month, Community leaders representing 46 Neighborhood Councils met with General Managers Laura Trejo of the Aging Department and General Manager Jan Perry of the Workforce and Economic Development Department in LA’s first Neighborhood Council Purposeful Aging Liaison Town Hall.

Make it Official – Take Mayoral Directive #17 to your Neighborhood Council for an endorsement and partner with the City of LA in embedding Purposeful Aging in all that the council does.

Start with a Vision – Set a standard, embark on a mission, select a goal, bring it to life! Stephanie from Silver Lake started with a simple vision, a place for seniors that had activities to keep them engaged. Several years later they have over 600 members and they have outgrown their building, setting a standard for partnerships and programming.

Create a Space – It all starts with your website! Get a page on your Neighborhood Council website and bring your Purposeful Aging Vision to life – digitally! Link to the Mayoral Directive, to the Purposeful Aging Resources, and to the City Department that provide the services.

Let’s Get Social – Follow, Like, Friend, and connect with all 96 Councils, all 42 Departments, and all of your new best friends – the other Purposeful Aging Liaisons. Then share the information with your network and become the trusted source of information in your community.

Meet your Neighbors – There is strength in numbers and there is also great value in the knowledge and inspiration that can be found when you connect with the other Neighborhood Councils in your region. If you want to get a jump on forming a committee, visit Mar Vista’s Aging in Place Committee. If you’re

File those CISs – City Council has many council files pending that impact seniors and it is important that Neighborhood Councils file Community Impact Statements to let the City Council know your opinion.

Collect local Priorities – Purposeful Aging Liaisons will be provided with a link to a Needs Assessment Survey that will be used to determine the priorities of each community with regards to the delivery of services to each neighborhood. In the meantime, start asking “What does an age-friendly” city look like?

Invite those Guests – There are an amazing number of departments and agencies that deliver services to our seniors and they love to connect to get feedback, to inform on programming and services, and to partner with the community in creating an age-friendly city. Take a look at the amazing speakers that have visited Mar Vista’s Aging in Place Committee!

Inform to Engage – The simplest and most effective route to engaging your community starts with great information. Sherri Akers, Tatjana Luethi, and Birgitta Kastenbaum from Mar Vista have done a great job creating a resource guide that informs and engages people by connecting them with the information they need.

Engage to Empower – The most resilient communities are those that are engaged, connected, sharing information and inspiration at every opportunity. The most significant route to Empowerment is to engage each other in the journey and to work together.

Each of LA’s 96 Neighborhood Councils can designate a Purposeful Aging Liaison (and an Alternate) who can be a Board Member or a stakeholder. The President can appoint the Liaison(s) or the Board can select the Liaison(s). Some councils have more than one liaison but there must be a lead who is the single point of contact for the council.

The Mayor’s Executive Directive #17 calls on the City of LA to “develop a Neighborhood Council outreach plan for convening the public meetings required of members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities and the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities” and it is in that spirit that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is identifying and activating Neighborhood Council Purposeful Aging Liaisons, to connect the City Departments that deliver city services to seniors with the Liaisons, and to support the Liaisons as they activate their respective councils and organize regionally and citywide

For more information on the Neighborhood Council Purposeful Aging Liaisons, email Stephen Box at [email protected] or call 213-978-1551.