Oakland County cities join age-friendly network

Four of eight Michigan cities that have joined a network to help older residents live well are in Oakland County.

Auburn Hills, Novi, Royal Oak and Southfield have joined the Age-Friendly network through the American Association of Retired Persons, according to a release from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The other four Michigan cities are Grand Rapids, Jackson, East Lansing and Lansing.

Other Michigan cities are working on action plans to join the network..

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and MDHHS have approved and submitted Michigan’s Age-Friendly Action Plan to AARP, the release said.

The plan follows Michigan’s designation in October 2019 as an AARP AgeFriendly state, the first step in a multi-year process to make the state more livable for people of every age.

“One of MDHHS’s priorities is to ensure that Michiganders can age in their homes and communities for as long as possible while continuing to contribute to the economy and live healthy lives,” said Farah Hanley, MDHHS chief deputy director for health. “The Age-Friendly Plan will help us accomplish this important goal.”

People aged 60 and older make up about a quarter of the state’s population. In the next six years, experts predict that for the first time in its history, Michigan will have more people over age 65 than under 18.

Karen Adcock, Auburn Hills director of senior services, said the city was one of the first in Michigan to receive the age-friendly designation from AARP.

She said the city has conducted community meetings and taken other steps to gather information on what services seniors and others desired.

She said more events will be planned in the future where people of all ages can give feedback on city services.

Adcock said that among the many things the city does for its seniors is to strongly encourage developers to consider the needs of older adults when they design new homes.