What’s New with MinnEESI

This week, we are delighted to have a post from Marie Nelson, Project Coordinator of the Minnesota Elder Economic Security Initiative at the Minnesota Women's Consortium. Read below to find out what's new with our Minnesota state partner!

The Minnesota Elder Economic Security Initiative (MinnEESI) is working hard to take advantage of a very successful launch. Our February 10, 2009 launch resulted in widespread media coverage and enthusiastic support from Minnesota-based aging experts and organizations.

It’s important to keep the momentum going and MinnEESI is developing new tools and programs to keep the Minnesota Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Minnesota Elder Index) in the spotlight. We are gearing up for a number of presentations that will take place over the next five months for audiences in government, academic, metro and greater Minnesota. Prior to the launch, we worked to develop a coalition of support in the aging community and continue to do so through endorsement requests.

MinnEESI is carefully tracking legislative work on elder issues, particularly on action regarding the renter’s credit and the Communities for a Lifetime Bill. We are in the process of creating an easy-to-use summary of Minnesota Elder Index. This document will allow legislators to easily reference the information for their constituents as well as compare cost of living across Minnesota’s 87 counties. This document will be available shortly.

MinnEESI will continue to increase media presence by writing editorials and sample newsletter articles to elder organizations. In turn, MinnEESI will collect stories reflecting the experiences of elders and caregivers. Our outreach will further develop as we create a train-the-trainers curriculum. This curriculum will expand the network of those who understand the Minnesota Elder Index as a tool for use in venues such as retirement planning, legislative work or financial education. These trainers can then assist new immigrants in understanding the cost of living, high school students in fundamental retirement planning or in helping elders determine if they are ready to retire.

To contact MinnEESI or receive our weekly e-newsletter email Project Coordinator Marie Nelson at eesi@mnwomen.org or call the Minnesota Women’s Consortium at 651-228-0338. Stay up to date on the MinnEESI blog.