Henderson Named first AARP Age-Friendly Community in Nevada
Mayor Andy Hafen and the Henderson City Council will accept the AARP Age-Friendly Community designation at tonight’s City Council meeting. Henderson is the first city in Nevada to receive this recognition.
An age-friendly community is designed to help create an environment that is accessible and encourages active and healthy aging for all people.
“Henderson has always been a premier place for retirees and seniors to live, and now we are being recognized for our long history of providing quality recreational and housing services for older adults,” Mayor Hafen said. “I am pleased that Henderson is the state’s first Age-Friendly Community.”
With acceptance of the age-friendly community designation, city staff will conduct a survey of senior residents to determine the needs of the community. The city will also work with an advisory committee to develop objectives and strategies to accompany goals that will be incorporated into an age-friendly plan in continued support of age-friendly living.
“As the first Nevada city to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Henderson will be a model for the kind of smart, forward-thinking planning that makes communities great places to live at any age, and for generations to come,” said Maria Dent, AARP Nevada state director. “We look forward to working with the city, residents and community partners on this exciting and important process.”
Henderson first applied for the program in the summer of 2015 and now joins 73 other communities around the nation with the Age-Friendly Community designation. The city’s population is older on average than that of the United States as a whole, with a median age of 41 compared with the national median age of 37.
With 22.3 percent of the city’s population over the age of 60 and projected to increase, Henderson is remains committed to providing quality senior and nutritional services to the community at Heritage Park Senior Facility and Downtown Senior Center.
The city, in partnership with private developers and the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, has also worked to provide quality and affordability in its senior housing complexes.
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