Commission on Aging

The Commission on Aging serves as a catalyst for improving public awareness of the senior and aging community. We work in collaboration with diverse community members and organizations to build bridges, open dialogue, celebrate accomplishments, encourage programming, and explore issues and concerns of older adults. Our intent is to promote solutions to the problems and challenges and celebrate the contributions of our older citizens.

Statutory Authority: 2.23.090

The CoA meeting are on the second Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. in the Hooker Room

Please check the city's government calendar for exact dates and times.

Contact Info

Contact City of Bloomington Liaison Marissa Parr-Scott at marissa.parrscott@bloomington.in.gov or 812.349.3430

Click here to view the Commission brochure

Senior Focus Program

The Commission on Aging is charged with celebrating the contributions of the older adults in our community. We believe recognizing the contributions of seniors through our Senior Focus Program will help accomplish that purpose and provide excellent role models for the community.

Program Guidelines:

Nominations: Any Bloomington Senior 65 years or older may be nominated or self-nominate to be acknowledged in the Senior Focus Program.

Criteria for Selection: The nominee must be a resident of Bloomington and the nominator must make reference to the reasons why this individual is deserving of our community's attention for his/her life well lived, resilience in the face of challenges, and informal and/or formal contributions to the wellbeing of the community.

Format for Nomination: Nominations may be submitted using the online nomination form, electronically or in print. Electronic nominations should be sent to: marissa.parrscott@bloomington.in.gov or postal mail address: City of Bloomington, Commission on Aging, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47402. Please include the name of the nominator and relationship to the nominee along with contact information for both the nominee and nominator. A photo of the nominee is optional, with written permission from the nominee if selected.

Recognition Vehicle: Awardees will be recognized in the Commission on Aging bi-monthly newsletter, accompanied by the focus submission to the Herald Times Neighbors section and local radio stations.

Nomination Deadlines: Nominations will be collected every six months with three awardees selected for each six month period. The nomination deadline for recognition January - June is November 30th and the nomination deadline for recognition July - December is May 31.

To submit an online nomination form go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAdAZwxWPSPmlZj6tFP067OhQRyHLT1Nkkk0nauQbfiZfSnA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&gxids=7628

Service Provider Roundtable Series ~
April 27th, 28th and 29th @ 2pm via Zoom

Last July, The Commission on Aging hosted a Service Provider Roundtable series that identified community challenges around social isolation of older people in Bloomington. This April, the commission hosted another Service Provider Roundtable that focused on digital equity, social isolation solutions and cross agency collaboration. We have provided the links to those recorded discussions below! If you have interest in learning more contact the commission at: owenss@bloomington.in.gov.
 

Digital Equity in Bloomington - : Join Commissioner Jenny Donegan and founder of TechHeroes and Jack Kahn, Technologist and founder of the Bloomington Commission on Aging. Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19eC4ral6FnjQ-BBCvS73AZ4ialXp3wNK/view?usp=sharing

Social Isolation Solutions - Wednesday, April 28th at 2pm: Join Phil Stafford, Commission on Aging Chair and retired Anthropology Professor. In a brief overview of the national scope of this problem and enter a moderated discussion regarding local solutions led by local organizations in partnership with older adults and others affected.  Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xGF3wGdeXAhn7QMwVmZYc6KmPnkUFrem/view?usp=sharing

Cross Agency Collaboration: Session is on Thursday, April 29th at 2pm: Join Commissioner Kelsey and her co-host Stacey Goffinet who is a Cross Agency Advocate, as they discuss; best practices, innovations in Patient Centered Care, Resource Navigation and Supportive Collaboration within our community. The goal will be for residential communities, care facilities and senior centers to share their solutions and challenges to connect residents while staying safe. Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18zZq1y--u2XCkkRpsyOYNlHSaEcCAS9b/view?usp=sharing

2020 ANNUAL REPORT

GLANCING BACK, MOVING FORWARD: OUR ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2018

Aging affects us all. Often, our life experiences lead us to focus on the ways in which we differ (such as race, gender, religious preference, or socio-economic status). But aging is an experience we all have in common. Everyone who is lucky enough to grow old will feel some of the pains (and hopefully, some of the joys) associated with aging. So everyone will benefit from making Bloomington a more comfortable and welcoming community in which to age, not just those citizens who already are older now.

And that is the goal of the work we do: To help Bloomington become more age-and-ability-friendly. Our Annual Report will give you an overview of who we are, what we've done in 2020, and our plans for 2021. You can access the full text of the report by clicking on the link below. We would welcome the opportunity to address any questions you might have about our work.

2020 COA Annual Report

2016 Annual Report and supporting documents:

• 2018 Commission on Aging Annual Report
• 2017 Commission on Aging Annual Report
• 2016 Commission on Aging Annual Report
• 2016 Creative Aging Festival Program
• BCFSA Task Force Report
• BCFSA Pledge Signed by Mayor Hamilton
• Response to the Draft Comprehensive Plan
• Alphabet Soup--Acronyms & Abbreviations
• Guide to Community Support