Partners for Livable Communities (Partners) releases, “Arts Organizations and Public Health,” a guide to creating partnerships between art and health organizations. This primer was designed for the arts organization that wishes to initiate programming focused on local health issues, or create partnerships with health groups in order to best meet the needs of the community. Arts Organizations and Public Health identifies best practices of diverse arts organizations from around the United States to inform this work. The best practices can be used as references, and are cited throughout the publication to correlate with text.
Subject Term: Community Engagement
Arts Council: The Government Agency for Funding and Developing the Arts in Ireland
From the Arts Council of Ireland website:
The Arts Council of Ireland is the Irish government agency for developing the arts. We work in partnership with artists, arts organisations, public policy makers and others to build a central place for the arts in Irish life.
Arts & Minds: Connecting Art & Well-being
The mission statement from the Arts & Minds site:
Arts & Minds is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving quality of life for all people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias through engagement with art. We partner with museums to provide meaningful art-centered activities that create positive emotional and cognitive experiences, enhance verbal and non-verbal communication, reduce isolation and build community. Our programs empower people with dementia, family members, professional caregivers and educators to strengthen social, emotional and spiritual bonds by engaging with art.
Art Therapy: Enhancing the Lives of Older Adults
From the toolkit:
Art can be a powerful activity for older adults. For many seniors art is a lifelong passion, for others, art is a hobby that they never had the time to pursue. No matter the situation, having an art program in your community can contribute substantially to the overall quality of life of your residents.
Alzheimer’s Poetry Project
From the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP) site:
The mission of the APP is to improve the quality of life of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia by facilitating creative expression through poetry. We do not set boundaries in our beliefs in what possible for people with memory impairment to create. By saying to people with dementia, we value you and your creativity; we are saying we value all members of our community.
Memory Loss Initiative
From the StoryCorps site:
StoryCorps launched the Memory Loss Initiative to support and encourage people with various forms of memory loss to share their stories with loved ones and future generations.
AARP’s BACK TO WORK 50+ Program
From the AARP Site:
50+ jobseekers need help gaining skills, finding jobs and building financial security. One promising approach is to encourage existing community intermediaries — like community colleges and workforce investment boards — to put new emphasis on helping 50+ workers find new and better jobs. The AARP Foundation’s BACK TO WORK 50+ program is supporting over 20 sites across the country as they build programs and services targeting 50+ workers. BACK TO WORK 50+ connects 50+ workers with information, training, support, work experience, and employer access they need to get back into the workforce and sustain their income through employment. Early results suggest that this approach may bear fruit, as thousands of 50+ job seekers have called the AARP Foundation’s national toll-free hotline just in 2014.
Ageism in America
From the Introduction to this study from The Anti-Ageism Taskforce at The International Longevity Center:
“…it must be noted that the status of older persons and our attitudes toward them are not only rooted in historic and economic circumstances. They also derive from deeply held human concerns and fears about the vulnerability inherent in the later years of life. Such feelings can translate into contempt and neglect.”
Age-Friendly New York City
From the Age-Friendly NYC Site:
Started as a public-private partnership in 2007, NYAM’s Age-friendly NYC initiative has catalyzed hundreds of changes throughout the city. We have successfully created Age-friendly Neighborhoods, increased pedestrian safety, showed thousands of businesses how to become age-friendly, and improved transportation and access to recreational and cultural resources for the city’s older adults. Age-friendly NYC was awarded “Best Existing Age-Friendly Initiative in the World” by the International Federation on Aging in 2013 and has provided strategic assistance to more than 70 cities worldwide.
The Prophet of the Coming Aging Boom
From the Forbes Article:
For three decades Ken Dychtwald has been proclaiming that a demographic tidal wave is approaching America. He calls it the Age Wave, which is also the name of his Emeryville, Calif. consultancy and a book he co-wrote back in 1989. Learn to ride it, he tells businesses, or you will be crushed and drowned. Now that the wave is beginning to hit full force, more and more businesses are listening.