Local Age and Disability Friendly Plan

Town of San Anselmo

San Anselmo Age and Disability Friendly v1.0 - 1200 (1)

San Anselmo Residents

Stories of Lived Experiences

MADI was awarded a grant by the California Department of Aging to partner with San Anselmo town staff and leadership in order to develop a local Age and Disability Friendly plan. The goal is to improve community livability for people of all ages and abilities by addressing the current, emerging and future needs of San Anselmo’s older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. This will be achieved through cross-sector collaboration, transformational systems and elevating the strengths and voices of community partners to ensure full inclusion in all town planning initiatives.

San Anselmo

San Anselmo is the fifth largest municipality in Marin County with an estimated population of 12,830. It is only one of 11 town and city jurisdictions in Marin and is surrounded by approximately 460 rural and urban unincorporated areas governed by Marin County. With a total of 2.7 square miles, San Anselmo has only three major roads that intersect at the central business district. With 6 parks and acres of open space, San Anselmo is one of the best social outdoor gathering spots in Marin. As of 2021, 25% of San Anselmo’s residents were 60 years or older. Visit the website for more information: https://www.townofsananselmo.org/

Plan Stages and Goals

MADI and Age and Disability Friendly San Anselmo are leading an Advisory Committee, that includes specialists in aging and disability and many of the Town’s leaders and stakeholders, to oversee the project.

MADI and Age and Disability Friendly San Anselmo are leading an Advisory Committee, that includes specialists in aging and disability and many of the Town’s leaders and stakeholders, to oversee the project. MADI provided community education training sessions on ageism and ableism for residents and staff to help develop a mindset of inclusivity and enable all to reflect and share thoughts and experiences about aging and disability. This will set the groundwork for creating a strategic plan that is inclusive and expand the community’s understanding of aging and disability and the services and opportunities that exist in Marin.
A community call-to-action to develop a comprehensive assessment of the population is underway as is a plan to create working groups for each key element. We plan to conduct the assessment in spring/summer 2024 and present results to the residents in the Fall.
The working groups will develop strategic actions in specific focus areas such as housing, transportation, community services, emergency preparedness, social connection, and other important critical issues that arise from the assessment.
MADI and Age and Disability Friendly San Anselmo will develop a draft of the Age and Disability Action Plan and present it to the Town Council in the Winter of 2024.
In the Winter of 2024-2025 we will hosting a multi-generational town celebration to launch the plan and commence planning for implementation.
MADI will share our learnings and process with other Marin municipalities; as a template for how other towns/cities might incorporate disability planning into their communities, changing the way we plan for and include all residents.