Winter Haven, Florida Print

Joined the AARP Age-Friendly Network:
10/12/2015

Lead Agency: Lake Silver Recreation Center (Senior Center)

Senior/Community Center

Action Plan Download

Winter Haven developed its action plan through a grassroots and community-driven process, partnering with Polk State College. The plan represents input from a variety of demographic groups, industry professionals, and age-friendly committee members. This action plan focuses on housing, outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, and enhancing communication and information across these domains. Winter Haven's effort is also focused on activating interns from the private and public sectors as a means of expanding interest and knowledge of aging issues in the region.

Action Plan Highlights

  1. Housing

    Focus on aging in place and keeping residents in their existing neighborhoods by promoting grant programs for home modifications, identifying incentive programs for developers, such as grants and waivers for impact feees, utilites and infrastructure, and locating new affordable and accessible housing units that are centrally located.

  2. Outdoor Spaces

    Focus on facilities for older adults by renovating the existing senior center to be ADA compliant, adding older adult playground equipment, shuffleboard and pickleball courts to existing parks, conducting an age-friendly facility audit of public buildings and spaces, and incorporating age-friendly design features into new facility, renovation, and public works projects.

  3. Transportation

    Prioritize pedestrian safety for older adults by assessing crosswalks for accessiblity and safety, implementing bicycle lanes and trails, creating an inventory of community-wide transit and transportation options for older adults, and increasing transportation providers for people with disabilities and older adults.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

City of Lakeland (2023)

Lakeland, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Trails

Description: The project will create a safe, ADA-compliant, walkable connection to a park and link to three other bike/pedestrian routes that are connected throughout the city to other facilities and trails.

City of Orlando (2021)

Orlando, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public spaces improvements to increase high-speed internet availability

Description: In the neighborhoods surrounding Prince Hall Park and Willows Park, a large percentage of residents lack reliable access to broadband internet. To help meet this need, the City of Orlando installed wheelchair accessible, solar powered tables and shade structures -- each outfitted with charging stations and Wi-Fi hotspots -- at both neighborhood parks. Rated for 175 mile-per-hour winds, the tables can sustain hurricane-strength gusts, allowing residents to use them to charge phones, call loved ones or access emergency information during disaster scenarios. Local artists painted the concrete pads that anchor the two tables to depict positive images representing the community.

ABOUT THE AARP COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Launched in 2017, the annual AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to local governments and nonprofits in order to fund quick-action, ready-to-implement projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages.

See all nearby projects

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AARP Florida State Office

360 N. Central Avenue
Suite 1750
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
United States

Phone: 866-595-7678
Email: [email protected]