A research team at UMass Boston has delivered a 109-page report — Aging in Newton: A Community Needs Assessment — to assist the City’s strategic planning in preparation for the opening of the Cooper Center for Active Living, which is expected in the fall of 2025 as a replacement and enhancement of the former Newton Senior Center. The report presents an assessment of the needs and characteristics of Newton residents aged 60 and older. It was discussed in the City Council’s Programs and Service Committee meeting on December 4.
This research was commissioned by the City’s Department of Older Adult Services with support from the Senior Citizen’s Fund of Newton, a 33-year-old nonprofit aimed at enhancing the well-being of Newton’s older residents. The research was designed to:
- Support decisions about programming, staffing, and facility use at the Cooper Center;
- Assist other City departments and organizations in understanding and meeting the needs of older residents;
- Examine age-relevant issues such as financial security, caregiving, housing, transportation, health, social inclusion, and cultural diversity; and
- Make specific recommendations to address these needs.
The research was based on a mailed community survey that achieved a response rate of 57% and thus represented the views of more than 10% of the target population. On par with gender distribution in Newton, 33% of the survey respondents were male, and 67% were female. The survey also used key-informant interviews, such as those from first responders, to gather expert opinions and context, as well as focus groups (some conducted in Russian and Chinese) to explore residents’ experiences and opinions in more detail.
“The Department of Older Adults having this report the same year that the Cooper Center will open up is a very important part of the process,” said John Rice, a former Newton City Councilor and Executive Director of the Hyde Community Center. “Identifying the needs of the older adults living in the city of Newton, and having a state-of-the-art, thirty-three-thousand square foot building that will provide a lot of services for older adults and adults of all ages will be good for the community.”
On Tuesday, January 7, a panel consisting of Caitlin Coyle and Kathy Burnes from UMass Boston’s Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, and Mignonne Murray, Newton’s director of Older Adult Services, gathered at the Newton Free Library to discuss the survey results. Some key findings from the research include:
- By 2030, 30% of Newton’s population will be 60 or older.
- The top concern is financial security. Despite Newton’s affluence, 13% of households headed by someone aged 65 and older reported annual incomes below $25,000.
- The growth in space (from 8,000 sq. ft. for the former Senior Center to 33,000 sq. ft. for the Cooper Center) is expected to increase residents’ participation and requests for services. 38% reported that they did not need the services of the former Senior Center.
- Indoor fitness and performances and presentations are residents’ top programming priorities.
- 21% reported that their social life had deteriorated. “Solo agers” — who live alone with no partner and no family nearby — represent 12% of those over 50, according to the AARP. They seek transportation services and opportunities to socialize.
- 34% of those who drive with limitations and 37% of those who do not drive reported missing a medical appointment because of a lack of transportation.
- 22% of residents over 64 live alone, and 10% do not know anyone within 30 minutes travel to call on for help.
For Laura Shaw, a member of the Newton Council on Aging, the biggest surprise in this research came from transportation. “The public transportation here is not very good, and that’s what people have a hard time with. People have said to me ‘When I give up driving, I’m going to have to move.’” To help combat this, the Newton Council on Aging has arranged with Go-Go Newton for “very inexpensive drives to and from the city center.”
Joan Belle Isle, the president of the Newton Council on Aging, believes that the financial stress described in the report exacerbates the lack of available transportation for older adults. “Newton is a wealthy town. And the number of people who have an income of $20,000 or less, it is very hard to live with. Even if your housing costs are under control, just getting from one place to another…it all adds up.” Indeed, financial stress, especially cost of living, ranked high as a concern for Newton seniors, with many considering it a top priority.
The survey also placed a large emphasis on solo aging, with 39% of individuals aged 80 or older living alone. This represented a concern for Shaw. “I am also always astonished by the number of solo agers…You don’t have the kind of family enclaves that my family grew up with…it makes aging more challenging.”
Some key recommendations from the research include:
- Extend the Cooper Center’s evening and weekend hours, and provide drop-in spaces to socialize.
- Develop online and in-home programs.
- Promote affordable housing options, including home-sharing.
- Support caregivers with caregiver boot camps and a hotline.
- Expand transportation services based on volunteers and nonprofits.
- Focus on cultural and linguistic diversity.
- Develop neighborhood-based programs to build informal support networks.
- Create “surrogate grandparent” initiatives for mentorship and socialization.
“It makes aging more challenging, and the kind of resources solo agers need, people assume are there. And I don’t think they are,” says Shaw.
