The Institute for Empowered Aging

UNH’s Institute for Empowered Aging develops innovative practices, advocacy campaigns, research and tools that promote neighborhood resources designed to empower older people, positioning them as community builders, community catalysts, and change agents for the greater good.

This approach invests later life with meaning and purpose, and holds up older people as a skilled and valued resource for communities everywhere.

The Institute grows out of UNH’s role in a local and national movement (the Community Experience Partnership) that is empowering older people to drive change in their communities, as well as changing the narrative about what it means to be an older person in America.

The Institute accomplishes its work by:

• Training staff and older people about the values and principles underlying the Institute, including how to mobilize and support older people through the formation of self-directed project teams that identify and address important issues in their community.
• Identifying new partnerships that provide pathways for older people to apply their skills and interests for the benefit of others.
• Organizing older people as ambassadors and advocates working to extend the Institute’s ideas and approaches into communities everywhere. 

***We are seeking to hire a consultant who has experience observing and documenting community-based processes and facilitating efforts that lead to the co-creation of tools, resources, curricula and learning platforms. The consultant will work with UNH and its member settlement houses to develop and advance new practices. These new practices would be built upon a strength-based approach to aging in intergenerational community centers. The resources, tools, curricula and/or learning platforms would support organizational change and the professional development required for this practice change. Click here for our full RFP.

Please email the completed application to Terry Kaelber (tkaelber@unhny.org) by Wednesday, May 18.

Older People Leading Change: Why This is Critical

A growing community resource whose time has come

Our society is aging! In the not too distant future, one of every three adults in the US will be someone over age 60. Older adults in New York City will soon reach 1.7 million people. Not only are we living longer, but we are doing so in better health than ever before. Communities traditionally considered the growing number of older people to be a problem, expanding the need for services in an era of shrinking resources. But many communities now recognize that older people are a resource, bringing a wealth of experience from raising families, building careers, and navigating life’s challenges.

Most older people have long-standing and deep roots in their community—extended families, social networks, faith communities, professional and political connections, and other relationships they can draw on to make things happen. They have developed skills and judgment over multiple decades, and are often comfortable stepping into leadership roles, taking ownership of the work, and seeing it through to completion. Furthermore, older people want opportunities to keep growing and to give back, often by contributing their time, but also through continued learning, paid work, and “encore careers” where they are able to bring unique value.

An older person-led community-change strategy takes effort and investment. The benefits are many.

The Institute for Empowered Aging: Current Initiatives

UNH has developed innovative practices and new organizational partnerships that create pathways and neighborhood based resources that empower older people, positioning them as community change agents. UNH sponsors research and develops tools that further supports this work. To date, UNH has partnered with its member organizations to mobilize older people in 24 neighborhoods throughout New York City.