insideauburnhills

Striving To Be a Community That Embraces All Ages

On April 10th, the City of Auburn Hills, recognizing the theme’s importance, participated in a forum called “Shattering Ageism: Creating Communities That Embrace All Ages” in East Lansing. AgeAlive, a program within the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, arranged this gathering of officials representing non-profit organizations and communities throughout the region.

The event was enlightening, as it brought together three university research experts and three practitioners with field expertise in providing for the needs of older adults.  Many interesting points of view were discussed at the forum, such as:

  • “Aging gracefully or grudgingly? How and why do people avoid identifying as old, and what opportunities do they miss when they do so?”
  • “Social relationships in later life: Does marital status matter?”
  • “Bringing digital literacy to ‘hard to reach’ older adults: Some strategies.”

The keynote speaker focused her presentation on “Ageism” and how older adults are often marginalized and experience ageism through prejudice and stereotypes.

A highlight of the program was a short talk provided by our Director of Recreation and Senior Services, Karen Adcock, about the Auburn Hills Age-Friendly Program, the first of its kind in the State of Michigan. She explained to the audience how Auburn Hills, with the assistance of AARP, has been proactively working since 2013 to improve the quality of life of older adults, which will naturally make the community a friendlier place for all.  She did an outstanding job representing our community.

Director of Recreation and Senior Services, Karen Adcock, presenting at the forum.

At the conclusion of the event, there was a line of people wishing to talk to her about Auburn Hills.  She took the time to speak to every person and offered assistance when needed.  Several commented that they were amazed at how the City was able to bring together its leaders and departments to address this goal.  Looking back, now 11 years later, the Auburn Hills Age-Friendly Program has been an innovative and rewarding initiative for the community.  Karen’s passion for older adults and leadership has been instrumental in the City’s success.

Steve Cohen, Director of Community Development