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In 2018, Massachusetts became an age-friendly state. In 2019, it completed and began to implement a 5-year action plan. Now the Executive Office of Elder Affairs has released a progress report for the first year of the age-friendly action plan, which cites the work of Encore Boston Network in collaborating with other organizations to help people over 50 master the job search process and advocate for their interests with employers.

Encore Boston Network, like the rest of the nation, is saddened and angered by the recent tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the litany of other victims’ names spoken and unspoken. Racism and racial violence have existed for far too long in this country and it is unacceptable. We acknowledge the grief, the pain, the exhaustion, and the ongoing traumas of racial violence and oppression felt in the Black community and among people of Color, and stand with them in solidarity.

EBN Board Chair Doug Dickson was quoted in a Boston Globe article about the governor's guidelines for reopening the state's economy. Read the full article here.

This month offers an opportunity to encourage and celebrate countless contributions that older adults make in our communities. Their time, experience, and talents make a difference every every day.

These networking groups have been meeting monthly at 16 sites around the state, but because of COVID-19, they have gone virtual. Get details here.

Your contribution to EBN will help us make up for lost revenue and provide services to people who are facing new challenges. Thanks for your support and confidence in the role we play in leveraging the power of people over 50.

This article by Mark Miller for the NYTimes assesses the impact of COVID-19 on workers over 50 and whether they will return to work, find new jobs or retire sooner than they had planned.

If fallout from the pandemic has you wondering if your retirement plans still make sense, you are not alone.

Ageism lurks as an ever-present influence in our society, but it has come roaring onto center stage with the COVID-19 crisis.

This Boston Globe article by Linda Matchan summarizes the ways in which ageism has influenced and characterized the response of society, government and healthcare decision makers to the COVID-19 outbreak. She asks us to think about how to flip these negative stereotypes on their heads.

In this moving blog post, EBN Board member Phyllis Segal writes about the links between earlier life events and the sudden challenge of adjusting to new circumstances. But she also describes the emergence of hope and the possible silver linings of this experience.

Do you want to lower anxiety and build resiliency in this time of uncertainty?

Newton at Home is seeking board members with marketing and public relations skills to help build awareness and presence in the community.

Full-time position ensures that skilled volunteers are recruited, trained and retained to fill roles vital to program success.

Now accepting applications for positions involving two days/week of service from September 2020 to June 2021. There is also an opportunity for monthly spiritual reflection in the Jesuit tradition.

This exciting project connects older adults and younger people for recorded conversations about tough times in the lives of the older adults and how they got through them.

The MIT AgeLab has a number of studies and projects that may be participated in remotely, and welcomes anyone who wishes to join in to sign up on their volunteer database.