Innovations In Aging Collaborative

COVENE THE COMMUNITY TO PROMOTE CREATIVE APPROACHES THAT ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF AGING.

-IIAC FORMED A COLLABORATION THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE AGE FRIENDLY PROPOSED PLAN, 2.0, WITH EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO. THIS NEW RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOTH THE CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS AND EL PASO COUNTY WILL BENEFIT SMALLER COMMUNITIES TO RECEIVE THE SAME BENEFITS FOR THEIR RESIDENTS TO MOVE TOWARD LIVABLE COMMUNITIES. EL PASO COUNTY WILL PROVIDE A GRANT IN 2022 TO SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE. -IIAC IS CURRENTLY PLANNING TO LAUNCH THE WORK TO CREATE A 2.0 AND IS CURRENTLY CREATING CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS AND EL PASO COUNTY TO CREATE DELIVERABLES APPROPRIATE FOR BOTH THE CITY AND OUR PARTNER CITIES WITH EL PASO COUNTY. LISTENING SESSIONS ARE BEING SCHEDULED TO DETERMINE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE 5-YEAR PLAN.-AFTER IIAC'S COLLABORATION IN 2017 WITH COLORADO SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL TO CREATE THE COLORADO SPRINGS COMMISSION ON AGING, THAT COLLECTIVE BODY WAS MOVED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AREA AGENCY ON AGING. THE AREA AGENCY ON AGING IS HOUSED UNDER THE PPACG, THE PIKES PEAK AREA OF COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS WHICH ALLOWS THE COMMISSION ON AGING TO FUNCTION ON A LARGER CAPACITY REPRESENTING ALL OF EL PASO COUNTY. WITH THE FOCUS OF IIAC TO CREATE DEEPER CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER CITIES WITHIN EL PASO COUNTY, THE SCOPE OF ADDRESSING ISSUES THAT LIMIT THE IMPACT ON POSITIVE LIVABILITY GOALS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR AND RESPOND TO A LARGER HOST OF OLDER ADULTS HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED. THE CITY AND COUNTY NOW HAVE AN IMBEDDED ADVOCACY BODY THAT CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE AGING POPULATION TO CITY COUNCIL AND COUNTY COMMISSIONER. -IIAC COLLABORATED WITH THE NATIONAL CIVIL LEAGUE (NCL) THROUGH A GRANT FROM NEXT FIFTY TO CREATE METRICS USING NCL'S CIVIC ENGAGEMENT MEASUREMENT TOOL, THE BETTER AGING CIVIC INDEX, WHICH WILL HELP PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGE FRIENDLY PIKES PEAK ACTION PLAN. THIS INDEX IS A SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR MEASURING A COMMUNITY'S CIVIC CAPITAL. CIVIC CAPITAL IS DEFINED AS "THE FORMAL AND INFORMAL RELATIONSHIPS, NETWORKS, AND CAPACITIES THAT COMMUNITIES USE TO MAKE DECISIONS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS." -IIAC COLLABORATED WITH THE MYRON STRATTON HOME, HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME OLDER ADULTS, AND PEAK EDUCATION, A NON-PROFIT THAT SUPPORTS SUCCESSFUL GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL FOR AT-RISK YOUTH, TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENT TRAINING OF OLDER ADULTS WITH TECHNOLOGY THROUGH A GRANT FROM THE LYDIA HILL FOUNDATION. -IIAC CREATED A COLLABORATION WITH SILVER KEY, NAMI, AND THE COLORADO SPRINGS CARES UNIT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO SECURE A GRANT FROM NEXT FIFTY TO ASSESS METRICS AROUND OLDER ADULTS TO DETERMINE IF THE COST OF CARE SERVICES, SUCH AS EMERGENCY ROOM ADMISSIONS, CAN ULTIMATELY BE REDUCED WITH A STRONGER LEVEL OF CLIENT SATISFACTION IN TERMS OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, ASSESSED BY CARE SCORES.-IIAC BECAME THE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COLLABORATIVE (AHC), THE VOICE AND ACTION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN EL PASO COUNTY. THE AHC WAS CREATED UNDER THE FIRST 5-YEAR PLAN AS A WORK GROUP WHO ULTIMATELY COMMITTED TO CREATING A STANDALONE UNIT TO MAKE THE COMMUNITY AWARE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS NOT ONLY FOR OLDER ADULTS BUT FOR ALL RESIDENTS.