Plan of Action

Six steps for planning for livable communities for aging in place are recommended:

Step One: Assemble a team of public and private leaders.  Surveys of successful planning efforts show that they need to be spearheaded and championed by local advocates and integrated into on-going planning efforts or they will fail.

Step Two: Assess the community’s aging-readiness.  Existing instruments for measuring aging readiness will be adapted as needed to better meet the needs of rural areas.

Step Three: Take focused action.  To avoid the syndrome of “planning for planning’s sake,” undertake a project that is easy to achieve and has demonstrable benefit for the community early in the life of the project.  This encourages team members and shows community residents the concrete benefits of changing the status quo.

Step Four: Promote success.  Not only should the team undertake a winner, but it needs to advertise and promote its success so that people identify with the planning effort.

Step Five: Set a long-term course. Over time, the leadership team can develop longer-term plans that might take more resources and effort.

Step Six: Get resources.  Early success can be built on to attract funding support, donations of land, additional volunteers, and other resources.

Nothing succeeds like success.  So get going – start a small advocacy group and get your community moving in the right direction.