A neighborhood association serving the community since 1969

Our next Annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday,
May 20th at Ainsworth Elementary School at the corner of SW Spring Street and SW Vista. from 6:30-9 PM. Aside from voting in a new slate of officers, SWHRL will be presenting a forum on Aging in Place. Open to the public; no charge. Everyone welcome! 

SWHRL May 20th Annual Meeting and Member Forum:

                  “Aging in Place”

In an effort to bring information and access to resources regarding topics of concern to our community SWHRL is organizing a neighborhood forum on the subject of “Aging in Place” to be held Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 9:00 PM on May 20^th at Ainsworth Elementary School.

The Forum is open to all SWHRL residents, and neighbors across the city that are interested in finding out how communities can develop better support networks for the elders in our midst. The content of the Forum is aimed at elders, families tending elders, and those of us who are considering the prospect of trying to successfully Age in Place - here in our own neighborhood.

This forum will feature a resource fair comprised of more than a score of agencies, nonprofit organizations and companies that serve our aging population, as well as families in need. We have invited nearly 20 service providers and have received commitments from nearly a dozen agencies, non-profits and companies to date. Each participating service provider will have a table to display their literature and their representatives will be encouraged to engage the neighbors to explain how their service contributes to the welfare of our elderly population. We expect that the outside of the hall will be filled wall-to-wall with providers! Neighbors will be encouraged to arrive as early as 6:30 to mingle with the providers and even during the formal presentation we expect some discreet circulation to persist. And after the conclusion of the formal meeting, we will allow for a further 30 minutes to wrap up discussions with the plentiful providers.

At 7 PM the formal SWHRL Membership Annual meeting will commence with some abbreviated SWHRL business, including the announcement and vote on a new slate of officers for the coming year. As always we welcome newcomers and can accommodate nominations from the floor. Indeed our neighborhood association is quite well know for that.

Following the member vote, we will begin the formal “Aging in Place agenda”

Jim Thayer, the current SWHRL President will begin the event with a brief introduction of the myriad service providers, some tips on other resources, and finally an introduction to the four speakers that will introduce some of the exciting new research and development that is occurring in the Portland area and as close as OHSU.

OHSU will be represented by Tracy Zitzelberger with the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology. She will describe some of the unique research that is being conducted by ORATECH to determine the correlation between motor skills and the aging process.

We have also invited the PSU Institute on Aging to discuss the research being conducted at that institution.

Bandana Shrestha, the regional Director of the AARP will also join us to discuss the Livable Communities program that they are supporting. This is a unique program designed to help communities provide a more effective network of support services for the elders in their midst.

Finally, we will have Eunice Noell-Waggoner from the The Center of Design for an Aging Society speak to us about Appropriate designs of homes that go beyond the traditional expectations of shelter and protection. At the end of these four presentations, we will open the floor to questions and answers, as well as to suggestion about how SWHRL could support their elderly residents more effectively.

SWHRL hopes that this will stimulate further grassroots efforts in our community to seek out and support the elders in our midst and to assure that as a community we provide as much support as possible. In these trying times, we also hope that these service agencies will serve as a first point of contact for those suffering reduced circumstances. We will follow up this forum by posting and maintaining a current list of all the relevant resources going on the SWHRL web site.

We will also work with SWNI to arrange for a second presentation of the providers and the speakers at the Multnomah Arts Center for the benefit of all the SW neighborhoods.

- Jim