The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York announced Age-Friendly: Go Local, an initiative in partnership with the New York Academy of Medicine that will support community organizations in western and central New York who are working to make neighborhoods more livable, equitable, and healthier for older adults and others who live there.
Neighborhood groups and grassroots organizations who are leading or planning locally-focused age-friendly initiatives can apply to receive funding and technical support to help strengthen and grow the impact of their efforts.
The age-friendly communities framework maintains that the quality and availability of certain features of a neighborhood—the “Eight Domains of Livability”—are closely tied to the well-being of older adults and others who live there. Examples of age-friendly efforts include initiatives to make neighborhoods more equitable by increasing greenspace, improving access to fresh food through community gardens, and organizing neighbors-helping-neighbors programs.
Age-Friendly: Go Local is intended for local organizations in the 16 counties served by the foundation that are working to improve the livability of neighborhoods where there are significant health disparities that contribute to reduced life expectancy. These outcomes are more common in places where systemic inequity and lack of investment have resulted in high rates of poverty, including both urban and rural settings, and where access to services to meet basic needs is more limited.
This program is also intended for groups that serve populations who may not be defined by a common geography, but face similar system-driven disparities, including LGBTQ+ older adults, Indigenous communities, immigrants and refugees, and others.
Age-Friendly: Go Local builds on the Age-Friendly NYS/Health and Age Across All Policies initiative, a public-private collaboration with the goal of integrating health considerations across all sectors of state government to improve community health and wellness.
Age-Friendly: Go Local provides two levels of funding opportunities. Groups that are working on initiatives that already exist or are ready to launch can apply for a grant of up to $25,000. Groups who are exploring the concept of age-friendly communities, and are looking for support with planning, organizing, and community engagement, can apply for a grant of up to $10,000.
The deadline for proposal submission is November 7, 2022.
To view the full Request for Proposals and information on how to apply, click here.