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How is the project funded?
Age-Friendly Englewood is funded by grants from the The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation. Other Bergen County communities receiving grants to develop and promote "age-friendly communities" include Fair Lawn, Garfield, Ridgewood, Teaneck and Westwood.
Walkability Study Released
Click here to review a Walkability Study, plus recommendations for corrective actions to ensure pedestrian safety.
Coalition Leadership
Bergen Family Center is the fiscal agent and sponsor of the project.
Janet Sharma, who served for 22 years as CEO of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, is the coordinator of the Age-Friendly Englewood project. Janet was also appointed by Governor Murphy to serve on the Age-Friendly NJ Advisory Council.
Age-Friendly Englewood is a community-wide
project that is working to ensure that residents
of Englewood can age-in-place in their homes
and in the community with dignity and independ-
ence. Age-Friendly Englewood seeks to help the
community become more livable for people of
all ages, with particular attention to the rapidly
growing number of older adults. An age-friendly
community is one that is a great place to grow
up and grow old.
Age-Friendly Englewood aims to help people
throughout the community -- whether they live
in an apartment, condo, single-family home,
multi-family home or assisted-living facility --
live their lives as fully as possible, with access
to a broad range of affordable services and
amenities as they age.
Building off of the City’s Master Plan, which
was adopted in 2014, the project started in
2016with the formation of a coalition of
organizations that provide services to Engle-
wood residents, including nonprofit organiza-
tions, houses of worship, civic organizations,
the Mayor, City Council and offices of City
government.
The coalition’s first task was to assess where
Englewood is at the present time, determine
where there are needs and/or gaps in service,
and develop a plan to meet those needs over
the months and years ahead.
The most essential element of the planning
process was input from residents throughout
Englewood who are age 60 or older. This was
accomplished through surveys, administered
both online and on paper to nearly 400 older
adult residents, as well as through focus groups,
brain-storming sessions and interviews with key
stake-holders in Englewood. Interviews were
also held with directors of City governmental
offices to learn how their offices serve older
adult residents.
The results were presented at a Community
Forum at Englewood Hospital in August 2016.
(Click here to view the presentation.) Following
this presentation, the Age-Friendly Coalition
formed work groups in the areas of Housing,
Transportation, Communications, and Social
Inclusion began developing work plans to meet
the identified needs.
Information provided by the World Health Organization and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) has helped to guide development of the Englewood project. WHO's Checklist of Age-Friendly Cities provided the framework for Age-Friendly Englewood's Plan of Work.
Click here for Age-Friendly Englewood's Five-Year-Plus Report to AARP, detailing activities from 2018-2024.