Reflecting on Older Americans Month and Pride Month
May was Older Americans Month — a time to celebrate the contributions of older adults across Rhode Island and renew our commitment to making our state a great place to grow up and grow old.
This year's theme reminded us that aging well is shaped not only by individual choices but also by the communities, policies, services, and social connections that support us throughout our lives. Creating places where people can remain engaged, connected, healthy, and secure requires ongoing collaboration across generations and sectors.
Across Rhode Island, that work continues to gain momentum. I am delighted to report that more than half of the state's cities and towns are now engaged in age-friendly efforts, reflecting a growing recognition that communities benefit when they are designed to support everyone. From housing and transportation to social participation and civic engagement, local leaders, residents, organizations, and partners are working together to build inclusive and accessible communities.
This month, we also recognize Pride Month. Many older LGBTQ+ people face unique challenges, including higher rates of social isolation and barriers to care, making it especially important that community initiatives, services, and supports are inclusive, welcoming, and responsive to diverse experiences and identities.
At Age-Friendly Rhode Island, we are grateful for the many partners, advocates, municipal leaders, and community members contributing to the growing movement. Together, we are creating a Rhode Island where every person can feel connected, supported, and valued.
As you explore this month's newsletter, we hope you'll discover new ideas, celebrate local progress, and share your own stories. Every story helps strengthen the age-friendly movement.
Have a wonderful and safe summer.
![Jim Connell](https://agefriendlyri.org/wp-content/uploads/JC-Headshot-for-AFRI-Site.png")
Growing momentum: number of age-friendly communities doubled
Rhode Island continues to lead the way in age-friendly community development. More than half of the state's cities and towns are now actively engaged in creating communities where residents of all ages can thrive. In addition, the State House of Representatives Commission on Older Adults is creating Rhode Island's first legislative, multi-sector plan on aging.
Congratulations to Central Falls, Rhode Island's newest official age-friendly community. Central Falls has joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, following the AARP application process, which grants automatic entry into the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. WHO launched the global age-friendly movement, and in 2012 engaged AARP as its US partner, guiding communities through the certification process. Age-Friendly Rhode Island leads Rhode Island's participation in WHO's global age-friendly movement, working to make every city and town in the state a great place to grow up and grow old.
Central Falls joins the following Rhode Island communities (in order of entry into the network):
Grateful to the local leaders, advocates, volunteers, and residents who continue to drive this important work forward.
Also developing and implementing programs:
Block Island transportation pilot program
A collaboration between Southern Rhode Island Volunteers, Age-Friendly New Shoreham, and Age-Friendly Rhode Island has led to an innovative transportation pilot on Block Island. The pilot is led by New Shoreham Human Services Director and Age-Friendly New Shoreham leader Allison Carley, and Southern Rhode Island Volunteers founder and Leadership RI Senior Fellow Class of 2026, Deb Tanner.
Supported through funding from Age-Friendly RI, the program provides critical transportation connections for Block Islanders traveling to medical appointments — an especially significant need for residents of one of Rhode Island's most geographically unique communities. The lessons from this pilot will help identify strategies that can be adapted for other small and rural communities throughout Rhode Island.
Learn more about Southern RI Volunteers →Age-Friendly RI joins regional convening of New England backbone organizations
During Older Americans Month, Age-Friendly RI Executive Director Jim Connell joined other New England age-friendly leaders from the Connecticut Age Well Collaborative, Maine Council on Aging, Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging, and the University of Vermont Center on Aging for a regional convening of Point32Health Foundation's New England backbone organizations for healthy aging.
The creativity, commitment, and collaborative spirit of our regional partners is energizing and inspiring. These organizations play a unique role in their states, bringing together partners across sectors to support and advance local age-friendly and dementia-friendly initiatives. The convening provided valuable opportunities to share ideas, learn from one another's successes and challenges, and explore approaches to strengthening age-friendly efforts across the region.
Celebrating the 2026 Leadership RI Senior Fellows graduates
A new cohort of Leadership Rhode Island Senior Fellows program began their 8-week journey on June 16, 2026. The program, co-originated by Age-Friendly RI and Leadership Rhode Island, places experienced older adults in meaningful volunteer leadership roles throughout the state, leveraging professional expertise, community knowledge, and commitment to service.
Since the program's inception, more than 100 Leadership Rhode Island Senior Fellows have helped strengthen organizations and advance age-friendly initiatives in communities across Rhode Island.
Senior Fellows Program | Leadership Rhode Island →Age-friendly community planning webinars
During Older Americans Month, Age-Friendly Rhode Island hosted two webinars on age-friendly community planning, featuring speakers from the Southern New Hampshire Planning Council and Newport's City Hall and Edward King House (senior center).
Visit the links below to download resources, best practice guides, and additional resources provided by speakers. Don't forget to share with colleagues who may benefit from the information presented!
LGBTQ+ older adult resources
Pride Month is an ideal time to highlight resources dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ older adults in Rhode Island. Age-friendly communities are communities where everyone belongs, and we encourage organizations and community leaders to explore how they can better serve LGBTQ+ older adults.
Celebrating Dr. Jodi Glass
Age-Friendly Rhode Island and the healthy aging community celebrate Dr. Jodi Glass for making Rhode Island's first ever older adult LGBTQ+ housing a reality at Kettle Point. Her vision, leadership, and dedication have created a welcoming home for LGBTQ+ older adults in East Providence, which is a milestone for inclusive aging across our state.
- →Aldersbridge to bring affordable housing to East Providence
- →More health care settings become LGBTQ Safe Zones: Glass in PBN – Aldersbridge Communities
Circle of Pride | Village Common of Rhode Island
Circle of Pride is a community organization of members and volunteers working together to enhance the experience of growing older for LGBTQ+ older adults in Rhode Island, operating as part of Village Common of Rhode Island.
Pride in Aging Rhode Island
Pride in Aging Rhode Island (formerly SAGE) is dedicated to promoting, empowering, and contributing to the high quality of life for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender senior community in Rhode Island through service, education, and advocacy.
OUTstandingLIFE
OUTstandingLIFE is a non-profit online community designed for and by LGBTQ+ older adults and their allies. They provide programs, connections, and resources designed to foster community, belonging, and well-being for LGBTQ+ older adults nationwide.
Role of age-friendly states and metropolitan planning areas
A new article in The Gerontologist, "Age-Friendly States as a Linchpin of Age-Friendly Ecosystems" (Wickersham & Coyle, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2026), examines how state-level leadership transforms age-friendly efforts from local initiatives into lasting, systems-level change.
Researchers reviewed 19 states and found that the most effective ones create policy and legislative infrastructure to enable local action, coordinated across housing, health, transportation, and workforce sectors, and build accountability through shared metrics and sustained funding.
Age-Friendly Rhode Island plays exactly the state-level coordination role the study identifies as essential. More than half of Rhode Island's cities and towns are engaged in age-friendly efforts. The RI House Commission on Older Adults, chaired by Representative Lauren Carson, is developing the state's first legislative, multi-sector plan on aging, which pairs local momentum with state-level policy alignment — which the study identifies as a foundation for lasting change.
Read the article →Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging: webinars feature community programs
Learn from others who are building communities where people of all ages are valued, included, and empowered to thrive. The Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging includes Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Two recent webinars from the Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging highlight innovative age-friendly programs. The first spotlights the Seacoast Village Project and Gather New Hampshire's Older Adult Community Dinner Series. The second focuses on the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center's Creative Aging Music Program and a Vouchers for Veterans initiative that provides farmers' market vouchers to local veterans.
Check out the webinars to find out how programs like this challenge ageist attitudes, promote the health and well-being of older adults, and create more age-inclusive communities.