News Print Coverage
Project on aging goes online
Web site offers details about countywide initiative, encourages participation
By Liz Cobbs
News Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor News
August 1, 2005
© 2005, The Ann Arbor News. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
A countywide coalition working on plans to respond to the needs of the growing population of older adults in Washtenaw County has come up with another way to get information out about the project.
Blueprint for Aging has launched a comprehensive Web site that provides a wide range of information, including the organization’s history, strategic plan and ways that interested community members can get involved.
Having easy access to information that is meaningful to older adult is also vitally important, said Donna Lee Hornyak, a member of the Blueprint for Aging publicity committee and director of the Ypsilanti Township Senior Citizens Center.
Through the new Web site, seniors can get information on the project and follow the development of Blueprint for Aging’s strategic plan, Hornyak said.
The site also has updates on the five work groups, links to the Blueprint’s online newsletter called, “Rethinking Aging,” and ways the public can provide feedback or get involved in the project.
In June, about 90 people attended a town hall meeting that the coalition held in Chelsea to brainstorm ideas and offer suggestions on what older adults, their caregivers and families need.
Similarly, Hornyak said, a smaller town hall meeting was held at Ypsilanti Township’s senior center and older adults from surrounding communities were invited to learn about the Blueprint for Aging and give their opinions.
“Even though we’re in the information-gathering level, it’s important that we get the seniors’ input,” Hornyak said.
Blueprint for Aging is a coalition of more than 40 public, private and nonprofit organizations and community members interested in or involved with older adult programs and services.
The group is creating a strategic plan to meet the current and future demands for care and assistance for residents over 60.
According to the U. S. Census figures from 1990 to 2000, the over-60 population in Washtenaw County increased three times as fast as the over-60 population statewide.
A Southeast Michigan Council of Governments’ study, based on census figures, predicts that between 2000 and 2030, the total number of people over 65 in Washtenaw County will triple, but the county’s overall population is projected to increase only 39 percent.
Last year, Blueprint for Aging became a part of the Community Partnerships for Older Adults, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which promotes community partnerships to improve long-term care and support services that meet the needs of older adults.
The Web site can be visited at www.blueprintforaging.org. For more information about the Blueprint for Aging, call project manager Dana Bright at (734) 712-3625.
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