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Milwaukee, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: This project will conduct four walk audits on streets leading to Jackson Park. Volunteers will audit, assess, and propose solutions with city and county officials.
Wrightsville, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: To make streets safer and more accessible for pedestrians, the city will hold walk audits to identify improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks.
Berkley, MI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: Downtown Berkley's main corridor lacked safe, walkable routes for older adults, even near age-restricted housing, limiting social connection and daily well-being. To address this, the agency led walk audits along Coolidge during a popular Halloween event, engaging residents and collecting feedback on sidewalks and crossings. Surveys highlighted ideas for streetscape upgrades during planned road reconstruction. The audits advanced dialogue on walkability and influenced city planning. One older adult shared, "When the weather is good and I get to walk through downtown my day instantly gets better. There are a lot of friends I get to see in different shops and on the street."
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Montclair, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: Skyrocketing housing costs and property taxes left older adults with few options to remain in their neighborhoods. To address this, Montclair Gateway launched a design competition for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), drawing 31 submissions from architecture students. Six winning designs were exhibited publicly and added to an online resource library, giving homeowners practical plans for age-friendly housing. The effort sparked local ADU applications and informed state policy discussions. "We want to keep our elders close to us at this point in our lives and in their lives," said one homeowner.
Montclair, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Older adults in Montclair faced digital literacy gaps that left them vulnerable during emergencies. The project trained 40 participants to use smartwatches for alerts, fall detection and SOS features, supported by peer navigators and additional equipment. A best practices report and an online video reinforced learning. Over 90% of participants rated the program "very beneficial", reporting greater confidence and awareness of life-saving tools. One trainee said smartwatch feedback "alerted me to a balance problem" and prompted her to seek professional help.
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