Written by Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD, co-director, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging
The focus for St. Louis area funders was on health equity at a recent convening with invited speakers, Brian Carpenter, PhD and Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD, co-directors of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging.
Sponsored by the Missouri Foundation for Health, Philanthropy St. Louis, and the Marrillac Mission Fund, the event, Equity in Aging: A St. Louis Area Funder Conversation, included regional foundations and non-profit organizations, with an agenda focused on health and economic disparities among older adults. Presentations included topics such as, current demographic realities about disparities in later life; policies and programs impacting the older population; and, new directions to advance health and well-being for older people. Featured speakers were Ray Boshara, legislative fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Bob Casey; Kathy Greenlee, former assistant secretary for aging; and a range of scholars, nonprofit executive directors, and St. Louis community program managers.
Carpenter and Morrow-Howell presented a video of WashU undergraduate and graduate students talking about their perspectives on aging. The students discussed their concerns about growing older, thoughts on the most pressing issues of an aging society, and hopes for their own future.
Meeting participants expressed excitement about hearing perspectives of these younger people, which will ultimately inform their planning to address equitable access to healthcare across the lifespan. Carpenter and Morrow-Howell also talked about opportunities to educate students about aging, for both personal and professional purposes, and how to create intergenerational opportunities for cross-age learning.
View the video, Perspectives on Later Life and other meeting materials.
Additional resources on advancing age-inclusivity can be found on our website.