Thank You Forum Participants!

We hosted forums throughout Door County from November 8th through November 17th and it was awesome! Some forums were big and others small but all were interactive and informative for all in attendance. We learned so much about the different communities of Door and the thoughts of residents about their community.

After sharing a little bit about our organization, we stepped through some interesting information that came from the Age-in-Place survey. If you weren’t able to make it, here’s a quick summary:

  • The top services that people say would help them age-in-place is about maintaining their home…snow removal, routine maintenance, housework, etc.
  • More than a third said that transportation, groceries and social activities were important.
  • Internet connectivity was also up there and the things associated with it such as telemedicine, access to telehealth devices and learning the technology showed up supporting this need.
  • People are most concerned with not being able to drive, becoming seriously ill or having memory loss, and difficulty getting around.
  • The most shocking numbers were more than a third either are or expect to experience being a burden, lonliness or sadness.

The conversation then began. We used the 8 domains of an Age-Friendly Community as a backdrop for the discussions. This allowed us to give some structure and consistency throughout the forums. See our post “What is an Age-Friendly Community” to learn more. By applying the importance and urgency of the domains, participants were able to discuss what they have and what they feel that they need to age in the community that they call home.

St. Norbert College Strategic Research Institute is crunching the numbers specific to the different communities throughout Door, and we are “digesting” everything that we learned at the forums. We will be pleased to get the statistics but more happy about what we gained through the forums. Hearing the thoughts and opinions of neighbors was invaluable.

We thank all who came to the forums and look forward to continuing the conversation!