Yavapai County

Yavapai county is a rural county of about 220,000 people spread across 8,000 miles. Even though we are spread out physically, we still maintain that “everybody knows your name” mentaility. Many community members know and trust each other. Overall, residents a very willing to work together and share resources. Many of our challenges are due to our vast size: there is lack of easy access to transportation and resources. In general, the more sparsely populated areas generally receive fewer funding opportunities. Our Communities for All Ages initiative is relatively unique in that it encompasses an entire county instead of just one neighborhood. Our goal is to infuse an intergenerational lens into services and supports across the county, and create solutions that work for all residents, rather than just one age or sector.

As a county wide initiative we work to bring all ages to the table through capacity building efforts in different neighborhoods. Our core team members which include representatives from eight nonprofits and agencies in the county, both promote intergenerational approaches within their own agencies and develop the necessary leadership and organizational capacity for different communities in the county to build intergenerational strategies into their work. We have seen a range of positive developments across the county, including one town which has developed its own unique Communities for All Ages coalition and participates as an independent site in the national Communities for All Ages network.