Port Orchard, WA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Lifelong housing and accessibility

Description: The Homes for All village is a tiny home community, which offers transitional and temporary housing for Port Orchard's unhoused residents. However, the community lacked communal space. To fill this gap, the County set out to designed and build an indoor gathering space. Kitsap County Commissioners received a donated 32-foot trailer, which they converted into a community kitchen for food prep and distribution. Volunteers worked to convert the trailer, adding an electric range, oven, microwave, sinks and refrigerators. The new space includes an adjacent room for dining, community meetings and group activities. Project organizers say the space helps residents build relationships with one another.

Orange County, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public or private transit access

Description: Many bus stops in rural Orange County lacked shelters or a place to sit. To address this, the Orange County Department on Aging worked with the county's public transportation department to install new seats at 15 bus stops. Designed to maximize space at stops without enough room for a transit shelter, the seats accommodate two people and are attached to the bus stop sign. Project organizers say the seats increase accessibility in rural parts of the county, where no bus stop sign was in place. Following installation of the seats, the public transportation department committed to building permanent bus shelters in high-traffic, rural areas.

Columbia, SC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The City of Columbia set out to provide outdoor seating along Main Street, an area that attracts pedestrians and hosts events that draw visitors from the surrounding region. Project organizers say that people now have a spot to work on their laptops, enjoy a cup of coffee or take in a meal from nearby food trucks. Although staff originally removed and stored the tables at the end of each day, their popularity spurred the City to leave them out permanently. And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the colorful tables and chairs provided residents with a safe space to gather outside. Because the seating is heavily used, the City has explored more ways to provide seating on Main Street.