Geezer crusade? – Well, anyway, JABA leads the way!

Whatever you want to call it, JABA is doing a wonderful job of planning for the future.

I am especially appreciative of steps to expand opportunities for intergenerational initiatives in public facilities, e.g., JABA FISH at Jackson-Via.

From Charlottesville, VA:

JABA, an Area Agency on Aging, Advances a Better Future for All Ages

In his February 1 column, New York Times op-editorial writer David Brooks called for what he terms a “geezer crusade.” Referring to the elderly as “our future,” Brooks mused that elders have the political clout to save the country for younger generations. We take issue with the zero-sum premises Brooks used to arrive at that conclusion. But the Viable Futures Center’s age-wave planning resources have already been harnessing the resources of elders to improve communities for all generations. Here’s one example of what happens within communities when that planning approach prevails.

We look to the Charlottesville, VA area to learn how an area agency on aging utilizes the Viable Futures perspective for broad-based community impact. For many years, JABA has been a leader in intergenerational planning and programs that engage public and private sector partners and utilize creative funding strategies for magnified results. Its award-winning 2020 Plan: Aging in Community — spearheaded in 2001– represents the work of citizens, providers and planners within the Thomas Jefferson Planning District to prepare for the doubling of the senior population forecast by the year 2020. Offering an evolving blueprint, the Plan provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to aging issues that has guided the development of solutions that benefit a broad range of constituencies in the region.