Large portraits have popped up in McKeesport and Sharpsburg buildings, part of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s continuing celebration of people of all ages who make this region special.
And to make that Picture This project more festive, the nonprofit and its partners in both communities have scheduled block parties, with the first occurring this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. in McKeesport.
Sharpsburg’s event is set for Aug. 23 in the former St. Vincent de Paul building on Main Street as part of the borough’s Summer Sizzler. The third community that Age-Friendly is working with in this cycle, Beechview, will have its photo installation erected soon, with its block party taking place on Sept. 13. The photographs will be displayed on the community center there.
The portraits featured come from Age-Friendly’s Age-Inclusive Photo Bank, a project launched in February, taken by well-known Pittsburgh-area photographers Martha Rial, Ishara Henry, Larry Rippel, John Altdorfer and Nate Smallwood. Nonprofits can access these at no cost for their promotional use, with the images depicting neighbors of all ages in those three communities and beyond. The goal: Show how the region’s residents don’t just exist but also can connect and build meaningful relationships across generations, according to Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh.
McKeesport’s installation, featuring Rial’s and Henry’s work, is in the People’s Building, 301 Fifth Ave. The party will include a bright yellow bench Storytelling Station, where people can sit and connect with their neighbors, according to Age-Friendly Associate Director Cassandra Masters.
The party will include entertainment by the Val Vazquez Jazz Group and refreshments by McKeesport’s We Understand the Assignment Catering. People can also connect over giant McKeesport-themed coloring pages and enter to win a prize at a raffle.
Registration is not required but is appreciated, according to the website.
The three Age-Friendly communities have been primarily planning this past year, and this is the start of getting their projects off the ground, Masters said. The nonprofit works with three communities for two years, then it selects three new ones.
The anchor organizations for them include the Beechview Historical Society, St. Paul AME Church in McKeesport and Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization.
The Photo Bank and the block parties are connected to Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s 2½-year age-inclusion campaign targeted to grassroots audiences in the region. It’s funded by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Masters said.
This project is extended through a digital bulletin board on its website, where people can upload photos and videos of how they connect with their neighbors. Then a larger exhibition will take place later in the year.
“All of the stories and perspectives we are capturing will culminate in a Downtown exhibit this fall,” Masters said. The staff is finalizing details and selecting a space, and the yellow bench will be a part of it, too. Most likely it should be ready for public viewing and interaction in November, she said.
The age-inclusion campaign has a goal of reframing “what it means to age in our region,” Masters said. That includes not just a media campaign but also a learning component.
About a third of Allegheny County’s population is over 65 — 19.7%, she said. Palm Beach County in Florida has the nation’s oldest population. These statistics come from a State of Aging Report the University Center for Social and Urban Research at Pitt conducted in December 2022. Funded by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, the National Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Family Support and the Health Policy Institute at the University of Pittsburgh in partnership with various local organizations contributed findings.
Since that study, though, Masters said demographics have been changing and neighborhoods have become more diverse. Hence, the campaign with Picture This, the tagline, at the heart of it right now.
“We’re using this to reach across age groups and help them connect,” she said. “We’re trying to get people to see people much older than them as friends and neighbors. It’s aspirational and what we know to be true.”
So social media and print ads will run this month, as well as posters on different transit shelters in neighborhoods to promote the activities and overall campaign.
The push for age inclusion has been expanding in the state. In April, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich and local leaders held the first in a series of events across the commonwealth to highlight efforts to develop age-friendly communities — all with the goal of encouraging more cities, towns and neighborhoods to ensure older Pennsylvanians have the services and support they need to thrive at every stage of life.
The McKeesport event showcased Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh and Southwest Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging, the nonprofit’s founder and fiscal sponsor, along with their coalition partners who have been leading the region to create communities that meet the changing needs of neighbors at every stage of their lives, according to the link on the nonprofit’s website.
Gov. Josh Shapiro in June announced that Pennsylvania has been officially designated an Age-Friendly State by AARP, joining just 13 states nationwide in committing to policies that support residents at every age and life stage.
Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh Executive Director Laura Poskin and Steering Committee Co-Chair Paul Winkler have been working toward this for more than a year, according to the nonprofit’s website. More regional engagement tour stops are being organized across the state.
The local effort, Masters said, is pushing ahead, too. The nonprofit hired Margie Zelenak and Paula Mathews as its and SWPPA‘s new regional community engagement coordinators. Over the next several months, they’ll be meeting with leaders in Westmoreland and Washington counties, according to the July Age-Friendly newsletter.
Masters said although the organization has been in both counties for years, the nonprofit is thinking through what communities there might become more involved as Age-Friendly communities.
She said the two women have worked in and know those counties well. Funding for this push also comes through the Henry L. Hillman Foundation.
“We’re still determining how many communities it will include,” Masters said. “We will be a thought partner and will plan with them over the next year.”
Once the highest county elected officials sign off and join in, communities in each will be chosen, again possibly three, and planning and activities will begin.
All this ties into the learning campaign Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh has been working on with university and workforce partners to spread age-friendly mission with those communities. “Older adults continue to make up the fastest growing space in our workforce,” Masters said. “We know people are retiring later and later. Some want to keep working; some have to do so.”
It has conducted 10 workshops so far with eight unique organizations, along with some variations with Area Agency on Aging leaders and staff. Those organizations included Partner4Work, CareerLink, Vintage Senior Center, The Education Partnership, Steel Smiling, and the Age Well Collaborative. It hopes to arrange for more in Washington and Westmoreland counties later this year.
Two cohorts of Age-Friendly scholars have completed their work with the nonprofit, too. They learn more about ageism and how to apply age-friendly principles into their own fields. Twenty students from seven local colleges and universities so far have gone through the one-year program, Masters said.
All this effort has not gone unnoticed. In a story introducing Pennsylvania as part of the Age-Friendly Network, the nationally distributed AARP Bulletin spotlighted a few community initiatives, including what the nonprofit has worked on recently.
“The piece gives a shoutout to our first group of Age-Friendly Neighborhoods — Clairton, Coraopolis and the Hill District — and the resident-led projects that emerged there, including outdoor yoga sessions and biweekly grocery trips,” according to the July newsletter.
In the article, Poskin explained why the effort has been successful: “You know your community. Why don’t you tell us what’s going to make it a better place to live as we age.”
RSVP for this Saturday’s Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s first block party at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/age-friendlys-mckeesport-block-party-tickets-1442209620799?aff=oddtdtcreator
RSVP for the Sharpsburg Age-Friendly block party that’s part of the Summer Sizzler event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sharpsburgs-summer-sizzler-age-friendly-hub-tickets-1461909754429?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.