We're your hometown website, here to provide the up-to-date information related to issues involving our senior adults in Haywood County and we invite you to send us news of what is happening in your communities. Thank you for joining our efforts to ignite a revolution creating a new culture of aging in Haywood County, making it an awesome place to work, live and age. We are Better Together! Our goal is to put a smile on your face - knowing you live in a community committed to the ideal of "neighbor helping neighbor." We can do it!

What is Haywood Community Connections?

In November 2004, the Haywood Community Governing Council was awarded a $150,000 grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to be utilized to develop a county-wide strategic plan. Subsequently, the Governing Council was awarded a $750,000 implementation grant from the Community Partnerships for Older Adults Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There were only seven grantees nationwide.

This grant has enabled the Governing Council “to develop an infrastructure through which a long term care and supportive services system is accessible to all county residents and through which gaps in the system are recognized and addressed.” Through this infrastructure, a network has been formed that fosters partnerships between public and private organizations, businesses and community members. This network/infrastructure is known as “Haywood Community Connections.” Through this network all other goals and objectives of the strategic plan have been met.

Originally funded by the Community Partnerships for Older Adults initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and matching funds supplied by municipal and county government entities as well as by individual partners, Haywood Community Connections is now primarily funded through county and municipal support. 

This infrastructure Haywood Community Connections will:

• Creates an awareness of services and programs currently available
• Strengthens the partnership 
• Brings community members, businesses, and government entities together to bring positive changes to our county 
• Creates a communication network among community leaders throughout the county. Currently thirteen communities across the county have their own Senior Resource Team that stays in touch with the community and communicates needs to Haywood Community Connections. Many needs are being met on a community level. This plan constitutes a return to the “neighbor helping neighbor” concept. 
• Increases preparedness to address emerging needs and to capitalize upon opportunities to meet those needs

Why is Haywood Community Connections important?

Haywood Community Connections is important because it:

• Creates a system that is responsive to not only the needs but also the preferences of our vulnerable, at-risk, older citizens.
• Provides an infrastructure that not only enables our community to realize the goals and objectives that emerged from surveys and town forums, but also enables the community to do advanced planning, study projected demographics, and remain prepared to meet emerging needs. 
• Empowers and equips community leaders to meet needs in their communities through the provision of resources, tools, and training. 
• Assists the long term care and supportive services system in being more self-sufficient and less dependent on support from outside the community.