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Page 4 MyGeneration • Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019
Maple Grove: Helping live healthy, active lives
By ALICIA MILLER
[email protected]
Residents aged 55 and older in Maple
Grove have a new resource at their fi n-
gertips. Age-Friendly Maple Grove has
created a website to help those older
adults stay active, safe and healthy.
The term age-friendly means the city
is a place where residents of all ages can
live healthy, active lives, and also age
well at the same time.
According to Age-Friendly Maple
Grove, a quarter of the city’s popula-
tion is 55 or older, up from about 11%
in 2000.
BECOMING AN AGE-FRIENDLY
CITY
Kris Orluck, Co-Chair Age-Friendly
Maple Grove Leadership Group, said
the decision to become an Age-Friendly
City started because of one individual
stepping forward, Goytree Hakim.
“She asked that Maple Grove consider
the opportunity,” Orluck said of Ha-
kim.
The city manager at the time, Al Mad-
sen, pulled in the Senior Center Coor-
dinator Orluck to assist Hakim into
looking at the options. Together, Hakim
and Orluck formed a working group to
explore ways to make the city a Lifetime
Community or Age-Friendly Commu-
nity.
“The committee evaluated differ-
ent frameworks and with input from
the city, determined to enter the Age-
Friendly Network through The World
Health Organization/AARP,” Orluck
said. “In 2016, the mayor, along with
the City Council made the request to
WHO/AARP, and a Leadership Team
currently leads the work for the city.”
The Age-Friendly framework looks at
eight different domains, and evaluates
the city on those domains.
Orluck said, through an assessment,
The city of Maple Grove has become an Age-Friendly City, meaning the city is place where residents of all ages can live healthy, active lives,
and also age well at the same time. Age-Friendly Maple Grove has created a website to help those older adults stay active, safe and healthy.
Age-Friendly Maple Grove looked at
housing, transportation, communica-
tions, social participation, civic partici-
pation and employment, engagement,
open spaces and buildings, community
and health services, and respect and so-
cial inclusion.
“The Leadership Group has created
a 3-year action plan that we are follow-
ing to meet some of the identifi ed areas
needing improvement,” she said of how
the group can help the city.
NEW WEBSITE INFORMATION
So just how can it help a resident who
is 55 or older? How about younger resi-
The new Age-Friendly Maple Grove website provides residents with different types of resources,
which include ways to save active.
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dents?
“We believe that the work of Age-
Friendly Maple Grove will make im-
provements that will help everyone, not
only older adults,” Orluck said. “When
improvements are made or informa-
tion shared on transportation concerns,
sidewalk safety, community resources,
housing concerns, etc., we are helping
those 55+, but also families with kids,
caregivers, and many Maple Grove resi-
dents.”
The new website provides a collection
of programs, services, events and other
resources that aid residents with things
they may need.
There is a category on transportation,
which provides links to city transporta-
tion services, Metro Transit and biking
and walking trails within Maple Grove.
Another category deals with types of
housing for those 55 and older. There is
a list of senior housing in the city, along
with home-based care services, hospice,
home modifi cation services and moving
services to name a few.
The category of health and wellness
focuses on providing information about
programs and services that promote
overall well-being for the mind and
body. Topics include physical movement
and activity, dementia and caregiver
support, and general medical.
A community assistance category pro-
vides a guide to various programs and
services in and around Maple Grove
that may be useful to older residents.
These include food and nutrition ser-
vices, grocery and food delivery, safety
services and more.
People may also look at the civic and
social involvement section, which pro-
vides residents with volunteer oppor-
tunities and information on ways to get
involved in the community and with the
Maple Grove government.
Age-Friendly Maple Grove is looking
at ways the city and businesses can cre-
ate a physical environment safe for resi-
dents to enjoy and navigate.
Lastly, the website has a link to the
city’s 55 Forward program. The pro-
gram offers a variety of events, classes
and trip for those that are older than 55
years old.
TO LEARN MORE
To learn more about Age-Friendly
Maple Grove visit the website, age-
friendlymaplegrove.org. Here people
can see the full assessment and the
three-year action plan.
Community members and other inter-
ested stakeholders can attend monthly
Leadership Team meetings, join a sub-
committee (such as Housing, Transpor-
tation, Social Participation, etc.), or vol-
unteer in another way. Send an email to
[email protected].
People can also share feedback and
ideas by calling 763-494-6524.
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