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From YouTube: Commissioners Corner - Emily Shea, Age Strong Commission
Description
In a peek towards the future, Mayor Walsh recently announced the renaming of the "Commission on Affairs of the Elderly" to, the Age Strong Commission. On this episode of Commissioners Corner, Host, Najya Mawasi, and Age Strong Commissioner Emily Shea, discuss how this revamped Commission better reflects the vibrancy of the people they serve.
A
B
A
This
revamped
Commission
now
better
reflects
the
vibrancy
of
the
people
they
serve
beside
me
is
our
frequent
guest
commissioner
Emily
Shay,
commissioner
Shay
oversees
the
aged
strong
Commission
for
the
city
of
Boston.
As
you
know,
our
city
is
rapidly
changing
and
so
are
the
needs
of
our
aging
residents
and
Lachey
Commissioner
Shay.
Thank
you.
So
much,
it's
been
several
months
that
you've
been
here
you're
a
third
time
guest.
Yes,.
A
C
And
we
are
just
thrilled
with
our
new
name.
You
know
we
had
our
named
the
Commission
on
affairs
of
the
elderly
for
50
years,
and
it
served
us
really
well
during
that
time,
but
over
time,
language
changes
and
we
wanted
to
make
sure
that
we
were
remaining
relevant
to
all
of
the
people
that
we
serve
and.
C
Sure
so
you
know
we're
serving
now
we're
serving
a
lot
of
a
number
of
baby
boomers,
so
we're
seeing
our
baby
boomer
cohort
come
into
the
aging
world
and
I
think
with
the
younger
folks
that
were
serving
that
the
term
elderly
doesn't
necessarily
resonate
with
everybody.
C
C
So
so
now
is
is
a
good
time.
As
I
said,
our
younger
baby
boomers
are
increasing
in
age
and
increasing
in
number.
So
actually
we,
older
adults,
are
one
of
the
fastest
growing
segments
the
population
in
Boston
we
have.
We
had
88,000
people
over
60
in
in
2010
and
by
2030,
we'll
have
close
to
a
hundred
and
thirty
thousand.
So
now
is
a
good
time
to
make
sure
that
we
are
sending
a
message
about
who
it
is
that
we
serve
and
what.
A
C
C
Strong
sure
you're
right,
because
we
could
have
gone
with
a
lot
of
different
names,
but
to
us
strong,
is
really
special.
You
know,
strong
is
a
word
that
resonates
with
Boston
I
mean
we
tested
a
lot
of
words
with
our
constituents.
We
had
a
whole
list
of
words
that
we
were
testing
and
the
two
words
that
really
we
asked
them
to
say
Kenna,
which
words
did
they
feel
connected
to.
They
feel
like
described
them
and
the
two
words
that
came
out
on
top
we're
strong
and
experienced,
and
it's
truly
a
reflection
on
who
we.
C
The
other
thing
about
about
age
strong,
is
that
in
Boston
we
are
really
strong
right.
It's
not
just
about
physical
strength,
it's
about
strength
of
character,
it's
about
strength
of
community
right,
it's
about
it's
about
being
able
to
get
through
strong
winters
and
and
really
having
the
strength
to
carry
forward
and
to
do
to
take
on
new
adventures,
and
that's
really
what
we
see
with
the
people
that
we
serve
great.
C
So
we
are,
we
were
able
to
update
our
mission
statement
with
all
of
these
changes,
so
our
mission
is
to
enhance
the
lives
of
people
55,
plus
with
meaningful
programs,
resources
and
connections
so
that
we
can
live
and
age
strong
together
in
Boston,
the
meaning
behind
that
is
that
we're
all
aging
right?
It's
not
it.
Hopefully
right.
C
A
C
Services
sure
I
was
I
would
love
to
share
that.
So
so
we,
you
know,
we
do
a
whole
host
of
things
in
our
office,
so
we
actually
have
volunteer
programs
for
people
55
and
older.
So
we
have
over
400
volunteers
who
are
connected
to
volunteer
opportunities
throughout
the
community.
You
know
they're
what
makes
Boston
strong
absolutely.
We
also
can
help
people
who
are
looking
to
apply
for
benefits
or
who
need
to
figure
out
how
to
navigate
something
in
City
Hall
or
they
think
that
they
might
need,
maybe
some
services
to
come
into
their
home.
C
We
can
help
get
people
connected
to
all
of
those
things.
We
can
help
people
who
are
having
some
challenges
with
their
housing.
We
provide
free
medical
transportation
for
people
sixty
and
over
in
Boston,
and
we
do
a
lot
of
events
and
programs
throughout
the
community
and
actually
you
had
asked
before
what
what
has
changed
in
our
commission.
One
really
important
thing:
that's
changed.
Is
we've
updated
our
website,
so
it's
a
lot
easier
to
navigate
and
to
find
out
what
what
we're
doing,
which
is
important.
A
C
C
The
the
the
things
that
are
staying
the
same
are
really
the
good
things
that
we
provide
for
the
community,
so
the
programs
and
services
that
we
offer.
Okay,
you
know
we're
always
looking
to
do
better
with
those
to
enhance
those
to
grow
those
when
we
see
needs
in
the
community,
but
those
are
staying,
we're
going
to
continue
what
we're
doing
with
those
things,
so
the
housing
that
volunteer
the
transportation.
How
all
of
those
will
continue.
Sorry.
C
I
mean
we
have
great
participation
from
the
community,
so
are
we?
We
serve
probably
a
little
over
20,000
people
every
year,
20,000
older
adults
in
the
community.
So
we
want
more
and
more
people
to
be
participating
with
us,
whether
it's
knowing
that
they
can
call
us
for
information
or
knowing
that
they
can
call
us
to
find
something
to
do
in
the
community
and
go
to
one
of
our
programs.
We
actually
have
a
lot
of
neat
things
we're
doing
now
with
we're
running
Tai
Chi
classes
throughout
the
throughout.
B
A
C
C
Sure
so
one
thing
that
I
think
is
really
neat
that
we're
doing
as
part
of
our
age-friendly
plan
is.
We
are
creating
in
partnership
with
Boston
Main
streets,
age
and
dementia
friendly
businesses.
So
we
have
a
certification
for
Asian
dementia,
friendly
businesses.
We
piloted
the
program
in
West
Roxbury
and
we
have
11
businesses
trained
there.
They
have
made
changes
to
their
biz
so
that
they
can
better
serve
older,
adult
consumers.
How.
C
Yeah
them
involved.
Well,
we
reached
out
to
them
and
we
said
minoo.
We
showed
that
that
really,
how
important
older
adults
are
in
terms
of
a
market
segment
right,
they
access
local
businesses
all
the
time
and
it's
really
a
win-win
with
the
businesses
and
the
older
adults
that
are
shopping
there.
We
have
a
second
pilot
location
now
in
Jamaica
Plain
that
we're
working
on
very
different
location,
and
once
we
learn
from
these
two
communities
we're
going
to
look
to
roll
it
out
throughout
the
city,
Wow.
C
So
this
is
a
great
time
of
year
to
be
thinking
about
taxes
and
even
if
older
adults
don't
have
to
even
if
their
income
is
too
low
to
up
to
qualify
for
submitting
taxes.
Yes,
there
are
programs
that
you
can
access
if
you
just
get
your
taxes
done.
So,
for
example,
there
are
exemptions,
there's
a
elderly
exemption
that
some
people
might
qualify
for
where
they
can
get
money
off
their
taxes.
There's
also
a
veteran's
exemption,
there's
a
residential
exemption.
So
if
people
aren't
applying
for
those,
we
want
them
to
apply.
C
There's
a
program
that
we
operate
in
collaboration
with
the
assessing
Department,
where
older
adults
can
actually
work
off
up
to
$1,500
of
their
property
taxes
just
by
volunteering
in
a
city
department,
the
senior
property
tax
work
off
program.
So
we
want
people
to
be
applying
for
that,
if
they're
eligible
for
that
and
then
there's
a
state
tax
credit,
the
senior
circuit-breaker
tax
credit,
especially
one
of
the
most
underutilized
tax
credits,
but
people
can
actually
get
be
getting
money
back
if
they
qualify
for
this.
C
Are
and
Boston
has
a
fabulous
tax
coalition
of
of
tax
locations
that
will
do
free
taxes
for
people
as
long
as
their
income
is
under
a
certain
amount.
So
for
more
information
on
that,
folks
can
call
us
at
the
H
strong
Commission
right
at
3-1-1,
ask
for
the
H
strong
Commission,
and
we
can
help
them
get
connected
to
one
of
the
free
tax
ID.
So.
A
C
So
another
thing
that
we
updated
is
actually
the
values
that
we
have
as
a
commission,
and
this
is
both
values
for
how
we
want
to
work
as
a
team.
How
we
want
our
staff
to
work,
but
also
about
what
values
are
important
to
the
constituents
that
we
serve,
and
so
we
defined
our
values
as
inclusivity,
respect,
patience,
integrity
and
joy
and
I
think
that
they're
defining
those
is
going
to
help
us
as
we
move
forward.
C
A
C
I
would
love
to
so.
This
is
a
really
important
initiative,
that's
part
of
our
age
friendly
work
and
we
are
training
the
staff
who
work
at
the
city
who
interact
directly
with
constituents
and
especially
older
constituents,
and
we
want
to
make
sure
that,
whether
you're
working
in
the
retirement
department
or
whether
you're
working
in
Treasury
and
collections
or
one
of
the
registry
windows
that
you're
able
to
work
with
older
constituents
as
they
come
in.
So
this
is
a
three-part
training.
The
first
part
breaks
down
some
of
the
stereotypes
around
age.
C
The
second
part
talks
about
good
communication
techniques
to
use,
and
the
third
part
is
really
focused
on
dementia
and
how
to
recognize
signs
of
dementia
and
what
to
do
when
someone
you're
working
with
when
you
think
they
might
have
dementia.
So
we
are
super
excited
we've
already
trained,
almost
700
staff
members
at
the
city
and
we're
going
to
continue
on
going
department
to
department,
Wow.
C
C
Sure
so
one
thing
that
we're
doing
that
we
have
in
a
number
of
locations
across
the
city
is
called
memory
cafes.
So
these
are
programs
that
meet
once
a
month
and
they're
designed
to
be
a
safe
space
for
people
with
dementia
and
their
caregiver
to
come
to,
and
so
it's
it's
usually
a
two
or
three
hour
program.
C
There's
some
activity
in
in
the
program
where
people
can
connect
together
we
have
a
meal
together,
some
you
know
some
food
and
it's
a
it's
a
safe
space
for
people
to
come,
and
the
neat
thing
about
this
is
they've
been
so
popular
across
the
city
that
we
just
started
a
new
one
in
Roxbury
at
the
Vine
Street
Community
Center,
and
we
started
our
very
first
spanish-speaking
memory
cafe
for
caregivers
of
people
with
dementia
and
the
people
themselves,
who
have
dementia,
who
speak
Spanish.
That's.
C
Have
just
a
couple
of
so
one
other
thing
is
that
we
are
going
to
be
expanding
some
of
the
arts
and
culture
programming
that
we've
been
doing,
and
this
is
really
it's
really
exciting.
You'll
see
it
in
that.
In
the
upcoming
months,
we
had
a
fantastic
experience
with
some
of
the
artists
and
residents
working
with
our
seniors
across
the
city,
and
we
really
want
to
build
on
that
work
and
and
make
sure
that
there's
more
Arts
and
Culture
programming
for
older
adults
to
access.
Thank.
C
Oh,
my
gosh,
it's
been
so
positive.
Of
course
we
always
have
a
few
people
who
are
getting
used
to
the
name,
but
in
large
part
it
has
been
very
positive.
Our
constituents
feel
like
they
see
themselves
better
in
the
name.
It's
a
positive
name.
You
know
eight
strong,
it's
very
positive
and
they
like
that
and
and
I
I've
heard
more
times
than
one
I've
heard
some
of
our
older
constituents
saying
you
know:
age,
strong
and
they're,
processing,
the
name
and
then
they
say
age
strong.
That's
me,
that's
how
I
want
to.
C
C
A
You
you're
welcome
if
you
are
interested
in
learning
more
about
the
city
of
Boston
aged
strong
Commission,
please
visit
Boston
gov
forward,
slash
aged
strong
to
reach
the
eight
strong
commissioned
by
phone.
Please
call
six
one,
seven,
six,
three
five,
four,
three,
six
six
or
you
can
simply
dial
three
one
one!
Thank
you
for
watching
commissioner's
corner.
I'm
nadia
aussi.