Public Invited to Comment at Forum on Aging

The Ithaca College Gerontology Institute will cosponsor a public forum, "The Future of Aging in New York State," on Wednesday, September 27, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Women’s Community Building, 100 West Seneca Street. The forum will focus on the topics of housing, transportation, living in the community, and other considerations for older New Yorkers in the year 2015. Business leaders, researchers, students, legislators, advocates, service providers, and other people of all ages are invited to share their thoughts about the future needs of our older population.

The other sponsors of the forum are the New York State Office for the Aging, the State Society on Aging of New York, and the Ithaca Journal.

"In 1998 our office joined with the State Society on Aging of New York in an effort entitled Project 2015 to establish a framework that would begin mapping the needs of older New Yorkers as baby boomers burst into their mature, senior years," says Walter Hoefer, director of the New York State Office for the Aging. "The result was a series of papers on a variety of topics that will serve as a starting point for discussion on how we can assist Governor Pataki in helping New York State prepare for the expanding generation of seniors."

"Identifying the concerns of an aging population is difficult but necessary," adds Joanna Mellor, past president of the State Society on Aging of New York. "The characteristics, needs, and expectations of this group will differ significantly from those presented by New Yorkers over the past quarter century."

Locally, the Tompkins County Office for the Aging has worked with other agencies and individuals over the past year to assess the needs of area seniors in the new millennium. "The Project 2015 forum is an excellent opportunity to talk with representatives at the state level about the needs we have identified," says Irene Stein, director of the county agency.

The forum will open with presentations by several experts in the field of gerontology and aging. Vera Prosper, a housing policy analyst for the New York State Office for the Aging, will discuss her paper on housing; Nina Glasgow, a senior research associate at Cornell University, will present a paper on transportation; and John Krout, professor and director of the Gerontology Institute, and Bob Maiden, professor
of psychology and director of the gerontology program at Alfred University, will discuss their paper on living in the community.

Audience members will then be able to react to or ask questions about these presentations or comment on other topics that will affect older New Yorkers in 2015.

Anyone wishing to make an oral presentation (no longer than five minutes) should contact Elaine Richter, New York State Office for the Aging, 2 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223, or call 1-800-342-9871 by September 20.