In November 2017, research from the AARP Public Policy Institute found that socially isolated older adults are at greater risk for poor health than their well-connected counterparts. Social participation is a key factor in a person’s health and overall satisfaction. Therefore, the Age 
Friendly Colorado Springs Plan highlights social participation as one of the eight domains of livability.
Innovations in Aging recently released a Midway Progress Report that highlights the progress and next steps in each domain. Some of the highlights in the social participation domain are the new programs or expanded programs fostered by our Age Friendly partners: Pillar Institute for Lifelong Learning, the Senior Center, and Silver Key.
In addition to supporting local efforts, Innovations in Aging works to communicate changes and improvements made at the national level. One new tool that seeks to promote and provide opportunities to improve the rates of social engagement for older adult is the engAGED website. The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) recently published this new website for the National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults. The engAGED website has toolkits, resources, and research which advance innovative engagement approaches and programming. The centerpiece of the campaign is a consumer brochure: Doing Good is Good for You: Volunteer! To discover more resources created by the National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, click here.
