Boston: Age Strong Blog: Age Strong’s Senior Civic Academy, Week 2

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~ Boston, MA- The second week of Age Strong's 2024 Senior Civic Academy kicked off with a focus on introducing participants to the city government. The session, held on October 11th, featured a panel discussion on Human Services Overview & Programming. The esteemed panel included Chief of Human Services José Massó, Age Strong Commissioner Emily Shea, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) Commissioner Marta Rivera.

During the discussion, Chief Masso outlined the mission of Boston's Human Services cabinet while all three panelists shared their vision for increasing programming for older residents in the city. They emphasized the importance of decreasing barriers and providing more accessible services for older adults. The session concluded with a Q&A session where attendees were able to voice their concerns and offer suggestions.

Following the panel discussion, participants engaged in a skill-building workshop led by Age Strong Communications Director Ami Bennitt. The workshop focused on effective communication and crafting an "elevator pitch." Each participant was encouraged to work on a specific aging issue that they hope to change through advocacy.

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Bennitt explained that an elevator pitch is a concise way to present an issue in just one minute. She invited participants to share their aging issues with the group, which included topics such as simplifying benefit applications, increasing job opportunities for older adults in Boston, and creating an LGBTQ+ senior center in the city.

Attendees then participated in an exercise where they mapped out their elevator pitches by identifying who they needed to pitch to, what their issue was, why it needed changing, and what help they were asking for. They also discussed potential roadblocks and opposition they may face and how to keep the conversation going beyond the elevator pitch.

The Senior Civic Academy offers professional development and training for 24 older adults in Boston over six weeks. Its goal is to empower participants to use their voices to affect change within their communities. To learn more about this program, interested individuals can click here.

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