Background for Age-Friendly Carbondale

Who

Age-Friendly Carbondale is underpinned by two not-for-profit corporations: Age-Friendly Programs [a 501(c)(3) corporation] and the Carbondale Age-Friendly Community Initiative (CAFCI) [a 501(c)(4) corporation].  We are wholly volunteer directed and run.  Our steering committee presently includes Judie Blanchard, Larry Bogatz, Niki Delson, Ron Kokish, Nancy Peterson, Ted and Sue Zislis, Bella Fabella, Frank Sgambati, Candace Goodwin, Illene Pevec, Udelle Stuckey, and Susan Rhea.

Chronology

Age-Friendly Programs is the former Senior Matters, founded in 2007. At the time of its founding, its goal was to provide social and educational programs for older adults.  Senior Matters and CAFCI formed a collaborative relationship beginning with CAFCI’s founding in 2019. CAFCI and Senior Matters have had overlapping Boards since 2019.

CAFCI began as an ad hoc caucus of Carbondale residents advocating for public policies that support residents of all ages and abilities being fully included in our community.  CAFCI was the driving force for AARP designating Carbondale as a member of its Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities in July 2019. The Network is the United States affiliate of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, an international effort launched in 2006 to help cities prepare for rapid population aging and the parallel trend of urbanization. 

CAFCI was founded with the goals of

1. Enabling Carbondale’s aging residents to be more visible, vocal, and contributing with regard to town planning and civic issues.  (“Nothing about us without us!”)
2. Helping town officials better understand the aging process in order to make it more possible for people of all ages and abilities to live comfortably in, and be an active part of, Carbondale. 

Why

In 2019, CAFCI set out to give older adults a stronger voice in local policymaking and encourage them to contribute their time, energy, and experience to such efforts. However, CAFCI soon realized that older adults’ needs were not necessarily unique to their age cohort.  Older adults using wheelchairs can benefit from a wide, flat entryway.  So can anyone with a bike or a stroller.  Eighty-year-olds can more easily open horizontal windows.  So can eight-year-olds.  Older people told us that intra-urban public transport was very important for them.  So did teenagers.  So CAFCI expanded its focus. CAFCI’s primary goals are to politically empower people of all ages and abilities and to encourage them to contribute their time, skills, and voices to our community.  We are all aging. If we build a town that works for 80-year-olds, it will mostly work for eight-year-olds.

Carbondale is a charter municipality with an educated populace, two major ethnic groups, a radio station, a weekly newspaper, and less than 7000 people. What a perfect laboratory for participatory democracy! 

What

AARP’s Age-Friendly designation is aspirational.  It indicates only that a community has committed to becoming significantly more age-friendly than it is at the point of its designation.  Carbondale government has made that commitment. 

Age-Friendly Carbondale’s currently identified priorities include improved bike and pedestrian safety, public transportation, housing design, housing availability, and outdoor spaces.  We advocate for policies that align with AARP’s Eight Domains of Livability (see below). We undertake and carry out projects consistent with the policies we support, and we support and present programs and events that educate people of all ages and abilities about how to comfortably remain in their community throughout the life cycle. 

Our work is guided by AARP’s Eight Domains of Livability:

1. Transportation
2. Housing
3. Outdoor spaces and buildings
4. Social participation
5. Respect and inclusion
6. Work and Civic engagement
7. Communication and information
8. Community and health services

How

1. We work directly with elected and appointed government officials, town staff, not-for-profit organizations, and community leaders to influence changes consistent with age-friendly policies.
2. We inform the public about issues confronting the town, take public positions on those issues, and encourage wide public participation in decision-making processes related to those issues.
3. We present programs relevant to the entire aging spectrum, and occasionally, we lighten up and present programs just because we think people will like them.
4. We undertake projects consistent with making Carbondale a better place in which to age.

We support other programs and projects that are consistent with our mission.

At The National Level

As of 2023, nine states, one territory, and 737 counties and municipalities belonged to AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.  In Colorado, this includes eight counties and 12 municipalities. Most are in the front range, but nearby Eagle and Pitkin counties and the town of Fruita are members.  Colorado joined the Network in September 2018 and delegated responsibility for age-friendly work to the Lifelong Colorado Initiative.Media Contact: Niki Delson