What is the definition of a Connected Community?

A ‘Connected Community’ includes comfortable housing in a range of configurations and designs that are affordable for all, and which includes ready access to supportive personal care services and health care for those who need it. 

To combat age- and ability-segregation, Connected Communities include independent living for those who need no support and who are not older adults, which could include housing for people who work in the Connected Community providing services for those who do need support. A Connected Community also offers assisted living and skilled care, including for those living with cognitive impairment. The physical design includes green spaces and places to gather inside and outside for events. Day-to-day living in Connected Communities is integrated with broader community life.

Why are we talking about Connected Communities and who is our intended audience?

Researchers, advocates, policymakers and experts know from decades of work that community is the solution for older adults and those living with disabilities -- just as it is for everyone else.  It’s quite clear that no one wants to live in an institutional nursing home or any other quasi-medical health care facility cut off from the broader community. 

Our intended audience consists of experts and advocates who are strongly motivated to improve their regions by adapting them for longevity. We strive to see beyond only one or two aspects of the aging ecosystem, e.g., how to mitigate social isolation or help family caregivers. Rather, we aspire to something broader: Empowering those who are committed to assembling local groups of interested stakeholders willing and able to outline the parameters of a Connected Community in their own regions. 

We’re compiling the evidence and operational practices and protocols that exist in pockets around the country and leveraging this knowledge to design templates and toolkits for use by local champions. Eventually, we plan to organize a research and demonstration program (what we previously referred to as the EINSTEIN Option) to synthesize data from multiple parallel initiatives. We are poised to bring this work forward, even as the U.S. gets ready to cut a trillion dollars out of the health care economy during the next decade and the number of older adults explodes. Succeeding in this environment requires major innovation and serious commitment.

We are asking local champions to help us create new forms of social housing that spurs investment and economic development in areas that need and welcome it – leaders who can help braid and align public program dollars with private investment from multiple sources.

For example, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations could evolve to work with more individuals living with physical disability and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities. PACE programs could be responsible for health services while supportive services are organized with self-direction and flexible budgets that leverage the household-level organization of unlicensed supportive services. Disability advocates are currently pioneering ownership approaches under which households and suites could be built for mixed-generation households, e.g., parent/adult child supportive living.

What is the framework of a Connected Community?

We are working to design and build this framework now. We have begun to identify and study communities that operate elements of the continuum. A wealth of knowledge exists to define various aspects like the many “culture change” communities operating from a foundation of person-directed living principles. There are financing models, governance protocols and quality measurement tools to be refined and aligned.

What is the return to society and to investors?

Developed with a co-op model of governance, Connected Communities can build home equity at the neighborhood level. Incorporating accessible middle market housing with services as part of the model may also delay or prevent Medicaid spend down. Private investors and philanthropic supporters can contribute to the capital stacks necessary to build Connected Communities. Ongoing operations would be governed by cooperative agreements between major players with a strong commitment to high-quality performance. 

We seek innovative affordable housing developers ready to align with partners like PACE who manage predictable and transparent Medicaid and Medicare spending. Local leaders with complementary talents, knowledge, connections and funding can steward the development of a Connected Community as a shared asset belonging to the whole community – not a private club or a gated community. 

The return to society includes allowing older adults and individuals with disabilities to enjoy their lives and continue to participate in society in more robust ways. Rather than being segregated and confined to associate only with other older adults or individuals with disabilities, individuals would truly age in community. The workforce to support Connected Communities would fuel economic development for the area. Sustainability is tied to the ongoing flow of publicly financed health care programs and social service and housing programs, as well as private investment from individuals and families.