By Donald Gilpin
The Center for Modern Aging Princeton (CMAP) will be presenting its inaugural Symposium on Ageism, “Living Longer Lives: Overcoming Our Fears of Growing Old,” on Thursday, June 12, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mercer County Community College Conference Center.
Sponsored by the Silver Century Foundation and designed for individuals who are aging, professionals working in the aging sector, and advocates supporting the aging community, the event features workshops on aging and ageism, along with valuable networking opportunities.
New York Times “The New Old Age” columnist Paula Span and Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It author Tracey Gendron are keynote speakers for the event. Visit cmaprinceton.org for registration and further information. More than 150 people had already registered as of Monday evening.
For more than 50 years CMAP, formerly the Princeton Senior Resource Center in Monument Hall, now on Poor Farm Road, has served Princeton’s older residents.
“We exist to help older adults thrive,” said CMAP Executive Director David Dyson on Monday in his annual report to Princeton Council. “That means taking the time to deeply listen to our residents, to understand their needs and concerns, and to respond to emerging needs of individual older adults and groups that we serve.”
Dyson described a significant expansion of programs and services at CMAP during the past year, with 46 members participating in a Mandarin Chinese conversation group, 35 in a Spanish-speaking group, 14 in a Hindi conversation and friendship group, 31 in a group for Russian speakers, and 38 in a group of 38 French speakers.
Over the past two years there have been 16 members of an ESL program for older adult residents of CMAP and 39 members in the Aging Gaily program for members from the LGBTQ community, who gather for friendship, learning, advocacy. and support.
Dyson’s detailed report continued, noting on-site supportive services at Princeton Senior Living at Thanet Circle and the Mercer County nutrition program based at the Suzanne Patterson Center on Stockton Street. “This is a model for the country that others should be participating in,” said Dyson.
He went on to note that there were 288 older adult Princeton residents registered in one or more of the CMAP support groups — for widows, widowers, caregivers, sufferers of dementia, early stage memory loss, and much more. There were 302 members who took at least two of the more than 40 informational seminars offered last year. There are 380 residents who receive at least one hour of service from the social services.
“We are the only senior center in Mercer County with a social worker on staff,” Dyson reported,” as well as an entire department dedicated to social services.”
There are 594 Princeton residents currently enrolled in the Crosstown transportation program.
“These needs are continually evolving,” said Dyson, “and we listen. We listen and try to expand our response.” One example of this is the Ping Pong Parkinson group, which meets every Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m., with ping pong being one of the most highly recommended treatments for Parkinson’s.
Dyson went on to note CMAP’s community partnerships — with the Princeton Health Department, Human Services, the Princeton Public Library, Sustainable Princeton, and a New Jersey climatologist, and with the Silver Century Foundation.
In reporting on the CMAP’s commitment to exceptional programming and lifelong learning, Dyson pointed out that 865 Princeton residents took at least two courses or programs during the past year with an average of five different programs or events per participant. The Center’s Evergreen Forum program with 1,200 students is known around the state and beyond as a model program, with 50 classes including everything from political science to hard sciences, literature, art appreciation, and much more.
The Onstage Seniors program members, based at CMAP, write, prepare, and perform documentary theater vignettes and monologues about aging and ageism, drawn from their own lives, and they perform all over Mercer County.
CMAP also hosts the Grandpals program, pairing every kindergarten student in Princeton with an older adult grandpal from CMAP to read together for 30 minutes a week every week during the school year. CMAP also hosts Community Without Walls, with more than 200 older adults joining this peer-to-peer support and programming network “to help navigate the journey of aging so that older adults can safely and purposefully age in place,” according to Dyson.
On the horizon for the coming year at CMAP is continuing to expand programming and facilities while “engaging in community service in new ways.” An AmeriCorps cohort of 14 volunteers will be leading a focus on growth in digital literacy and technology education. “We need to provide the support to make sure that no one gets left behind,” said Dyson. “Overcoming this digital divide is important.”
He continued, “We’re working on Age-Friendly Princeton 2.0,” in partnership with Princeton Human Services to make sure Princeton continues to be an age-friendly community.
“Our vision as an organization is to be an indispensable community asset for older adults and their families as they navigate the journey of aging,” said Dyson. “We envision a world where older adults embrace aging and are valued for their wisdom, experience and talent. Core values are built around inclusion, empowerment, compassion, excellence, innovation, positivity, community relationships, trust, purpose, stewardship, and joy.”