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Madeleine Hackney
For using the tango to treat mobility problems
Argentine tango is traditionally danced in close embrace, with spontaneity and musicality. Hackney, a research health scientist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and a former professional dancer who once performed with the Radio City Rockettes, began adapting the rhythmic style in 2006 as a therapy for movement disorders.
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Clarkston Community Center Senior Refugee Program
For shepherding older refugees into American life
Not long after the Clarkston’s community center opened, the staff recognized that older refugees face unique hurdles in adapting to a different culture. “They’re the last [in the family] to get any kind of services,” says director Cindy Bowden. “They’re the last to learn English. They’re the last to get involved in the community. It’s important to offer them an avenue to belonging.”
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TechSAge
For using smart design to make our environment more accessible as we age
The woman guided her wheelchair onto the sidewalk along Spring Street in Midtown and considered her options. She was only going a few blocks, but to get there smoothly, she had to consider potential barriers that able-bodied people don’t usually worry about. She consulted the new app on her smartphone, which directed her along Armstead Place rather than Fourth Street; there’s no walk signal or crosswalk across traffic-heavy Spring Street at Fourth.
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The Giving Tree Intergenerational Preschool Program
For improving the well-being of elderly adults—by bringing them together with children
The Arbor Terrace assisted living facility in Alpharetta is typically a pretty quiet place. But on Wednesday and Friday mornings, the space is filled with an unexpected sound: the excited chatter and squeals of young children.
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The Fuqua Center for Late-Life Depression
For addressing the mental health of Georgia’s older adults
In Georgia one in five adults suffer from some kind of mental illness, and the rate is higher in adults over age 60. “When people get older, they fall off the map in terms of mental health services,” says Dr. William McDonald, a geriatric psychiatrist who heads the Fuqua Center.
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SAGE Atlanta
For providing vital advocacy and community for Atlanta’s LGBT seniors
When James* was diagnosed with lung cancer in his 80s, he was in a pretty good place compared to many of his peers. He had a solid network of supportive friends, and he had planned well. But James, a gay WWII veteran, needed help finding LGBT-friendly healthcare providers who would supply quality, consistent care in […]
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Atlanta Regional Commission and the Lifelong Communities Initiative
For providing the blueprint to create senior-friendly cities and neighborhoods across metro Atlanta
One steamy July morning, in the dining room of a spacious Inman Park home, a group of longtime neighborhood residents strategized over muffins and coffee about how to combat the unpleasant problem of root-busted sidewalks. And how to address the fact that Inman Park is home to nearly 4,300 people and a multitude of pricey luxury apartments but not a single residence classified as senior housing.
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HouseProud Atlanta
For repairing the homes of low-income seniors, one leaky roof at a time
The small Chosewood Park nonprofit has aided more than 700 low-income seniors since 1992. It provides home maintenance and repairs—everything from new toilets and wheelchair ramps to entire roofing or plumbing systems—for free.
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Dr. Monica Parker
For educating African Americans about Alzheimer’s—and making sure they’re represented in scientific research
Science shows that people of color are nearly twice as likely as their Caucasian counterparts to develop some form of dementia. And yet African Americans are consistently under-represented in Alzheimer’s studies. So geriatrics physician Dr. Monica Parker—whose mother and grandmother both suffered from dementia—doesn’t mince words when she’s doing community outreach for Emory’s centers on Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Brain Health.
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Sondra Ilgenfritz and Atlanta Theatre-to-Go
For bringing the arts to metro Atlanta’s seniors
Since 2007 the nonprofit has put on original theater productions in senior centers, churches and synagogues, retirement communities, and assisted living facilities—at no charge to audience members.
