— About Us —
Age-Friendly Rhode Island
Based at Rhode Island College, Age-Friendly Rhode Island is a coalition of community and state agencies, healthcare and social service providers, individuals of all ages, advocacy and faith-based organizations, businesses, academic institutions and municipal leaders who are committed to healthy aging.
Our Mission:
To create partnerships, catalyze change, and build community that supports and empowers Rhode Islanders as we age.
Our Vision:
To build a community that enables older Rhode Islanders to live independently with the care, support and resources needed to foster health, well-being, social connectedness and a meaningful life.
Strategy:
In pursuit of our mission and vision, our coalition members work together to:
COMMUNICATE
- Raise awareness of demographic changes and the value in building communities that support older Rhode Islanders
- Communicate broadly to elevate the conversation about healthy aging, ageism, age-friendly communities and issues affecting older people
COLLABORATE
- Engage partners and individuals who share a common interest in enhancing the lives of older Rhode Islanders and their families
- Promote cross-sector collaboration to to deliver collective age-friendly impact in our state
CATALYZE CHANGE
- Join forces for advocacy at the state and local level and boost support for system-wide solutions that serve older Rhode Islanders
- Champion coordinated services and programs and a strong, stable infrastructure that channels resources to meet the needs and preferences of older Rhode Islanders
Why Is an Age-Friendly RI Important?
Rhode Islanders are living longer than ever.
Projections from the Statewide Planning Office indicate that by 2030, the percentage of people age 65 and older will increase from 15.8% in 2014 to 23.1% in 2030. Nearly 100,000 more Rhode Islanders will be older than age 65 by 2030.
These changing demographic trends present a unique opportunity to tap into Rhode Island's ingenuity, creativity and sense of community to develop solutions to the evolving needs in our State.
See Rhode Island Healthy Aging Data for your community and download this infographic.
History
To successfully build an age-friendly community, it is vital to understand and anticipate the changes, opportunities, and challenges faced by Rhode Islanders as they age.
In response to a legislative mandate, in October 2014, the Aging in Community Subcommittee of the Long Term Care Coordinating Council formally launched its work. The subcommittee was tasked with developing a plan to provide the needed infrastructure and program improvements in support services, housing and transportation to enable the state's growing elder population to safely remain living at home and in community settings. The resulting Strategic Plan (December 2016), Executive Summary (June 2016), and Final Report (June 2016) represent the culmination of nearly two years of work, and include an inventory of available services, identification of service and program gaps and recommendations of resource needs and a path forward.
Leadership
Assistant Professor, Rhode Island College
Marianne Raimondo is an assistant professor and the director of the Health Care Administration program at Rhode Island College. She also serves as the executive director of the Institute for...
Executive Director, Age-Friendly RI
Connell has served older adults for decades and is an award-winning executive director with twenty years of experience in nonprofit administration. He most recently served as a director at Benchmark Senior Living, a leader in senior living with 63 communities across seven states...
Program Coordinator, Age-Friendly RI
Kyle Penrod is a Master’s candidate in Rhode Island College’s Health Care Administration program and has spent his career engaged in social justice work – assuming various programmatic support and supervisory roles at the Rhode Island School...
Find out more about our Partners and our Work Groups.