Parsippany LIVE (Lifelong Involvement for Vital Elders) Expanding to Caldwell with Federal Grant

Since September 2004, Parsippany residents have directly benefitted from a United Jewish Communities (UJC) of MetroWest NJ-initiated program involving hundreds of households with older adults. Parsippany LIVE (Lifelong Involvement for Vital Elders) was started with a one-year federal grant from the Administration on Aging in 2004, to develop a program that would help older adults “Age in Place” within Parsippany. Using information gleaned from a community assessment process that involved over 400 older residents, a team of non-profit agencies from our MetroWest community and beyond, led by UJC, developed a program to address the specific needs of older Parsippany residents.

Since the start of this initiative, hundreds of Parsippany residents age 60 and over have enjoyed a variety of low-cost or subsidized weekly exercise classes; more than 200 received job placement assistance, and 82 have experienced success in obtaining part-time and full-time employment with the support of a dedicated employment counselor; many more have attended conferences and workshops on topics including Home Safety, Using Humor to Cope with Caregiving, and Medicare Part D; and some have taken leadership roles in a community-wide initiatives including an inter-generational “Big Read” program, teaching ethnic cooking, coaching ping pong and leading Tai Chi classes, and successfully advocating for improved local public transportation.

Parsippany LIVE has provided information, programs, and services to 700+ older residents of Parsippany on a non-sectarian basis, under the leadership of UJC. The goal of Parsippany LIVE is to create an elder-friendly community, one where residents can “age in place” with social supports, access to services, and meaningful activities that promote civic engagement, encourage independence, and help people stay safe and healthy in their own homes. After three years with sustaining funding from UJC, the State of New Jersey, the Grotta Fund for Senior Care, the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement, and the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany Foundation, and wide support from UJC beneficiary agencies and throughout the community, UJC was successful in securing a second federal grant for $478,492 to sustain Parsippany LIVE and bring this innovative community organizing and service delivery model to another community. The second generation of LIVE will launch this fall in Caldwell.

Caldwell is extremely well-suited to the LIVE program. It is a town of 1.2 square miles, and as of the 2000 Census, it had a population of 7,584 in 3,311 households, 1,325 of which were headed by someone over the age of 55. Of those households with older adults, 15.4% lived alone. With 40% of its households including an older adult, it is a “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC),” a town that initially attracted young families but where people have remained and grown older. Caldwell has a strong sense of civic identity, an active interfaith network, a dense population, supportive local leadership, and a myriad of shops and services located along Bloomfield Avenue. The LIVE program will weave these community assets together and work with a team of non-profit service providers to address the expressed needs of older adults and help foster a sense of Caldwell not only as a great place to live but also a great place to grow older. Key to the LIVE model is the recruitment and active participation of Resident Advisors, who serve as local experts and ambassadors, helping to shape and promote the overall program.

The second generation of the LIVE program will be jointly implemented two UJC-supported agencies – Jewish Vocational Service and Jewish Family Service, each of which will employ a Site Coordinator and receive guidance from UJC’s Director of Eldercare Services. They will work together to further enhance services in Parsippany, while using the initial model as a template for launching the new program in Caldwell.

As demonstrated in Parsippany, creating “elder-friendly” communities through the LIVE model allows older adults to “Age in Place,” in their own homes; encourages older adults to make meaningful contributions to civic life as mentors, leaders, and program participants; promotes emotional and physical health by reducing isolation; and connects residents with resources and services they need to stay self-sufficient and independent longer.

For more information about the NORC program or about programs and services available to seniors in MetroWest, contact Karen Alexander at: , or by phone at: (973) 929-3193.