HERKIMER — Herkimer County HealthNet has received a $19,722 grant from the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties to support a community needs assessment that will help to determine the community’s interest in developing an intergenerational community center.
The center, according to a news release, will service individuals and families along the Mohawk Valley corridor — Herkimer, Ilion, Little Falls, Frankfort, Mohawk and Dolgeville — where the majority of the population of Herkimer County resides.
The community needs assessment will commence in mid-September.
The results of the needs assessment will be used to design and plan the development of an intergenerational center serving the needs of seniors and the greater community through interactions across generations, according to the release
Currently, there is no central community location serving the needs of a senior or intergeneration population in the Mohawk Valley corridor region. Development of a multi-generation community center can enhance the supports to seniors, establish a center with wrap-around services in a central location for seniors and enhance collaboration of multiple service providers, according to the release.
“The role of Herkimer County HealthNet is to continually assess and address issues concerning the health and well-being of the residents of Herkimer County,” Dr. Thomas C. Curnow, executive eirector of Herkimer County HealthNet, said in the release. “This community needs assessment will help us to focus our efforts on an identified community need that will benefit people of all generations.”
The assessment will be conducted by Thomas H. Dennison, Ph.D., from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. The purpose of the study is to engage in a process to further explore interest, more clearly define the target population and services that would be of interest to the population, and design and develop a proposed service model, according to the release.