In May, Metro Social Services released its annual report on the wellbeing of Davidson County residents. “This year, in particular, we gave special attention to our seniors who are becoming overwhelmed with financial burdens and rising costs," Metro Social Services executive director Renee Pratt said, according to The Tennessean. Nashvillians aged 65 and up represent the fastest growing age group in the city, and half of them experience livable income poverty. The Tennessean reported that Nashville scores lower than many similarly-sized Metro areas for livability for older adults.
In December of last year, our congregation provided a grant to AgeWell Middle Tennessee and United Way of Greater Nashville to fund a planning initiative for Financial Empowerment for Older Adults in our community. The guiding vision has been to build, based upon the successful model of the Financial Empowerment Center, a coordinated support network that empowers older adults to improve their financial well-being. In close coordination with partner organizations, AgeWell and United Way reviewed model programs from other communities, mapped current resources in Davidson County, and enlisted Vanderbilt Qualitative Research Core to facilitate focus groups of older adults to understand current financial struggles and what kinds of help would be useful.
The thorough work culminated in a streamlined, low-tech program design to assist older Nashvillians. The Secure Aging Collaborative creates a network of organizations to provide coordinated financial stability services for older adults in Davidson County through
personalized financial counseling,
benefit enrollment assistance, and
referral to supplemental income opportunities.
We have a wonderful opportunity to hear from AgeWell representatives what this might look like from the perspective of a client, and how this collaborative would contribute to make our community more livable for older adults.
We invite members and friends of the congregation and the community at large to join us for a presentation on Wednesday, November 29, at 6 p.m., in the Fellowship Hall at Vine Street Christian Church. We will serve a light dinner, and are planning for the presentation and Q&A to end by 8 p.m.
