Approved June 24, 2014

MEETING MINUTES Age Friendly Evanston! Task Force Tuesday, May 20, 2014 2:00 PM Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., Linden Room

Members Present: Susan Cherco, Isidro Lucas, John Barfield, Sue Canter, Dorothy Strong, Jo-Ann Cromer

Members Absent: Wayne Heimbach, Helen Gagel, Martha Holmes

Staff Present: Christina Ferraro, Asst. Director of Community Services, Rebecca Ramsey, Senior Services Intern

Guests: Margaret Gergen The Merion; Olivia Mantongo, ManorCare Health Services; Kulsum Ameji, LAF; Phebe Tinker; Yvonne Dickerson, City of Evanston

Presiding Member: Susan Cherco

Declaration of Quorum With a quorum present, Chairperson Cherco called the meeting to order at 2:05 PM

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Guest attendees introduced themselves.

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES of April 22, 2014 meeting. A motion to approve minutes of the April 22, 2014 meeting was moved and seconded. A voice vote was taken and the minutes were approved as written.

COMMITTEE REPORTS Housing: No housing report. Transportation: No transportation report. Buildings and Outdoor Spaces: Sue Canter reported that the group will meet with all Evanston subsided housing buildings with Audrey Thompson, ombudsman, to discuss ambience. There will be a collaboration meeting between the two HACC and the two HUDD buildings on 6/2. One of the agenda items will be the physical appearance of all the buildings.

Social Participation: Jo-Ann Cromer reported on Social Participation. Ms. Cromer has gathered a group ages 59-92 at the Foster Senior Club to discuss social participation. Ms. Cromer identified financial problem for individuals to attend events. Also, In the evening there are few ways to get around to events and activities that are of interest. Many people have taxi coupons but use them to get to doctors’ appointments, etc. Page 1 of 3 Age Friendly Evanston! Task Force Approved June 24, 2014 Some individuals do not feel welcome at some senior events. Ms. Cromer is trying to get the group together again. Dorothy Strong and Ms. Cromer will try to have meetings together.

Respect and Social Inclusion: Dorothy Strong reported that she has emailed interested individuals information on the group and will attend the May 23 event. Ms. Strong is trying to recruit people to join the groups.

Communication and Information: Chairperson Cherco reported on behalf of Martha Holmes for Communication and Information. Ms. Holmes spoke with Martha Logan, Public Information Specialist for the City of Evanston to understand how communication is executed. Ms. Holmes learned that newsletters are the primary form of communication to residents, both hardcopy and electronic. The Evanston Roundtable, flyers, and posters are also widely used. Direct mail is rarely used. The next step for Ms. Holmes is to develop focus groups. She will contact alderman to recommend potential ward members for focus group.

Community Support and Health Services: John Barfield reported that he attended the National Association of Social Workers presentation on Age Friendly. Mr. Barfield reported that the Halsted Street Center is looking to create new housing opportunities for seniors. Mr. Barfield has emailed individuals interested in the community and health services area. Mr. Barfield is planning to host a focus group. Mr. Barfield and the task force suggested developing “Key Indicators” to guide focus groups.

Civic Participation and Employment: Isidro Lucas reported that he offered to translate age friendly information and publications into Spanish. A newsletter through the City of Evanston is sent out in Spanish that Mr. Lucas will investigate to potentially publicize Age Friendly to that population.

CHAIR REPORTS Ms. Ferraro and Ms. Cherco spoke at the Aging Well Conference on Friday, May 9 at Three Crowns Park. Individuals interested in contributing to Age Friendly Evanston provided contact information and signed up for focus and work groups. Ms. Cherco encouraged all task force members to attend the Age Friendly event at the YMCA on May 23 from 9-11 am. Ms. Ferraro, Ms. Ramsey, and Ms. Cherco set times for tentative age friendly focus groups, work groups, and professional roundtables. Ms. Cherco acknowledged requests to invite guest speakers to each meeting of the age friendly task force.

STAFF REPORTS Christina Ferraro reported that she spoke at City Council on May 25 about the Age Friendly Task Force. Ms. Ferraro spoke with Ms. Cherco at the Aging Well Conference to further publicize the age friendly movement. Ms. Ramsey maintained a table at the Conference with information and signup sheets for Age Friendly Evanston. Ms. Ferraro reports that she continues to prepare for the May 23 event where the results of the October 2013 survey will be unveiled. Ms. Ferraro sent out a reminder email to her contacts about the May 23 Age Friendly event. Many responded back that although they are interested in Age Friendly they

Page 2 of 3 Age Friendly Evanston! Task Force Approved June 24, 2014 cannot attend the May 23 event. Ms. Ferraro reported that roundtable and focus groups have been scheduled and she will release the times/dates to the group. A Park Tour is being scheduled with Bob Dorneker, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation in conjunction with the Buildings and Outdoor Spaces domain. The Application to World Health will officially be submitted next week. Two years from this month the action plan is due.

COMMUNICATIONS No communications.

ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn the meeting was approved and seconded. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved at 2:45 PM, May 20, 2014.

Respectfully Submitted, Rebecca Ramsey Intern, Senior Services

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