Senior Assets for Optimal Living: Improving Quality of Life for Midland’s Seniors Jennifer Heronema President & CEO The Legacy Center Alan Brown Executive Director Senior Services

Why initiate this effort? With the projected increase in the senior population in general, and in older (over 80) seniors in particular, it will be critical for communities to wisely allocate scarce resources to assure the highest return on investment in protecting, caring for, and engaging our older citizens Senior Services was inspired by the positive outcomes youth experienced as a result of communitywide collaboration on Developmental Assets

What are Senior Assets? By identifying those community, family and individual Assets most conducive to optimal living for seniors, and assessing the degree to which they are present, interventions to increase and support those Assets could be more readily identified Senior Assets are a set of positive traits, qualities, and attributes necessary for seniors to succeed, be happy, and thrive

Collaboration between Senior Services and The Legacy Center Endorsement from Michigan Office of Services to the Aging Funding provided by the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation Assembled Steering Team of 20 experienced, and knowledgeable senior advocates Utilized federal, state and local research to identify Senior Assets 4 How were they developed?

Steering Team identified 32 Senior Assets that increase the likelihood that seniors will thrive – 18 External Assets—senior’s relationships – 14 Internal Assets—senior’s intrinsic qualities Model tested with survey of 120 Focus Group members and 1,475 Midland County seniors in May How were they developed?

7 Demographic Information SURVEY DATACENSUS DATA FemaleMaleTOTALFemaleMaleTOTAL %11%31%24%25% 49% %13%38%19%15% 34% %10%31% 12%6% 17% Total 66%34% 1,475 54%46%16,549 What is your Age and Gender? Do you Reside in the City of Midland? SurveyCensus Yes104573%53% No39027%47%

Do you reside in Assisted Living? Yes413% No138297% Midland County: Assisted Living and Adult Foster Care estimated 335 capacity = 2.02% of our senior population Is Social Security your Main Source of Income? Nationally, almost 75% of Social Security recipients aged 65+ depend on Social Security for all or most of their monthly income. (Social Security Administration, 2012) 8 Demographic Information

Highest levels of Senior Assets associated with participation in Programs and Faith-Based Activities – Seniors participating in Programs have 24.9 of 32 Assets – Seniors in Faith-Based Activities have 24.4 of 32 Assets Seniors participating in Programs and Faith-Based Activities report – Feeling encouraged to live well – Having more supportive friendships – Having a sense of purpose However, participation rates in these Senior Assets are the lowest of all – Faith-Based Activities—41.6% – Programs—40.9% 11 Key Findings Programs/Faith-Based Activities

SS Not Main: Social Security is not Senior’s main source of income Assisted No: Senior does not reside in Assisted Living SS Main: Social Security is Senior’s main source of income Assisted Yes: Senior resides in Assisted Living Programs: Percent of Respondents Reporting 0 Hours/Week Spent in Clubs, Groups, or Organizations

SS Not Main: Social Security is not Senior’s main source of income Assisted No: Senior does not reside in Assisted Living SS Main: Social Security is Senior’s main source of income Assisted Yes: Senior resides in Assisted Living Faith-Based Activities: Percent of Respondents Reporting 0 Hours/Week Spent in faith- based program or service

In addition to Programs and Faith-Based Activities, Family Boundaries and Caring Groups offer the greatest opportunities for Asset Growth Only 55% of respondents report having Family Boundaries (3 rd lowest) Only 62% report having Caring Groups; Seniors tend to lose this Asset as they age (4 th lowest) Key Findings Family Boundaries/ Caring Groups

Older seniors (90+) experience the greatest deficit in Senior Assets, especially those Assets enabling social-emotional health (Caring Groups, Positive Peers, Learning Engagement, Creative Activities and Programs) 15 Other Noteworthy Findings Senior Assets that Decrease with Age:

Respondents indicating SS as their main source of income report appreciably lower levels of most Senior Assets (Caring Groups, Programs, Senior as a Resource, Learning Engagement, Other Relationships and Creative Activities) Seniors living with assistance have fewer Senior Assets than those living independently 16 Other Noteworthy Findings

Respondents living outside the City of Midland have a lower number of Senior Assets Men report lower levels of Senior Assets than women Nearly 25% of seniors have not discussed their expectations and wishes with family members 17 Other Noteworthy Findings

20% of seniors report having no family nearby 11% of respondents indicate that their families seldom or never try to help them Most seniors believe that their finances are safe from exploitation and scams 18 Other Noteworthy Findings

Explore other approaches to meaningful involvement in caring groups, clubs and organizations, especially for lower income, rural residents and men Improve access to transportation options, especially for lower income and rural residents Explore other avenues of meaningful involvement and support, such as outreach, virtual connections and other electronic options Strengthen public awareness of scams and exploitation and provide credible and easy options for answers and support 19 Implications Action Items

Encourage older adults and families to define expectations, boundaries and preferences around medical directives, living situation, finances and level of involvement Explore avenues for surrogate support for 20% of seniors without family members nearby Explore ways to offer meaningful connections and involvement, being aware of the physical and cognitive challenges for our oldest adults Programs and services should be sensitive to the different needs of those over Implications

Increasing outreach to the “hidden” population of seniors Collaborating with organizations with high density population of seniors to share the importance of Senior Assets Lunchtime Learners session Series of articles in Primetimes, Senior Services’ monthly publication Progress

What questions may we address? 22