Our History

Waltham Connections has its roots in a 2015-6 Brandeis University study that used community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) to answer 3 questions: (1) How does Waltham support healthy aging? (2) How could it do better? (3) How do seniors stay healthy? Brandeis recruited and trained 9 senior volunteer co-researchers to help shape the study, conduct 17 agency interviews and 8 focus groups of 57 seniors, write two reports, and form a senior/agency Steering Group that launched Connections.  Our theme of “Connections’ expresses our aim to connect seniors to one another and to a more age-friendly city. The study found a lot to like about Waltham, with opportunities to engage even more seniors, particularly seniors who have low incomes, are immigrants, and/or are isolated. Read the full report here. For a shorter version, click here.

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Since 2017, Waltham Connections for Healthy Aging has led a number of initiatives to create a more age-friendly Waltham.  Based on our healthy aging research, we have focused on social participation, information and communication, nutrition, physical activity, lifelong learning, civic engagement, and digital access. Cutting across our efforts is inclusion of older adults who are isolated, poor, and/or immigrants. For more detailed descriptions and evaluations of our activities, visit our resources page.