It’s a conundrum in most communities – local leaders try to share information in multiple ways, yet many residents still report being unaware of local services, programs, and events.
Three of New Jersey’s age-friendly community initiatives are trying a new communications innovation – a text line that combines a newer technology, artificial intelligence, with an older one that community residents of any age are comfortable using, smartphones.
The Age-Friendly Ocean County Text Line officially launched on Sept. 11 after local leaders spent three months piloting the platform described as a “closed AI database.”
Age-Friendly Leonia began piloting its “Ask Anything” text line in September, using the same tech platform that Ocean County is using, and Fair Lawn for All Ages expects to launch its own version some time before year’s end.
The premise behind all three efforts is the same: Pushing out information through smartphones (a digital device that an estimated 90 percent of people over age 50 already use according to a 2026 AARP study of Tech Trends) while employing AI guardrails that will give users peace of mind about the accuracy and reliability of the information received.
How does it work? The text lines are free to use, recognize more than 100 languages, and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which could be helpful to residents seeking information outside of normal business hours.
In each locality, residents can type a query to the designated text line number. The subjects covered can range from transportation, housing, meal services, health care, social activities, caregiving assistance, and more. The responses received will be localized to their town and region and offer such specificity as the operating hours of the local town bus or a description of that day’s activities at the local senior center.
The responses users receive come from municipal and county websites and other verified information sources. Local and regional age-friendly leaders supply the data, which is then inputted into a platform operated by the tech companyBridge Social.
When it launched its pilot version in June, the leadership of Age-Friendly Ocean County invited community organizations, libraries, senior centers, retirement communities, health care providers, and municipal offices to share information about the service.
“It’s not like other AI platforms where the responses generated can come from anywhere, and you don’t know if that source of information can be trusted,” said Kathleen Cullinen, family and community health sciences educator forRutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County and principal investigator for Age-Friendly Ocean County. “This is all vetted information.”
The Ocean County Extension Service is partnering with the Ocean County Office of Senior Services to oversee and promote the text line project, the startup costs of which were funded through a grant from the Grunin Foundation.
How might it aid local officials? In Ocean County, a Rutgers social work student has been tasked with verifying source materials and monitoring information requests, Cullinen said. If users ask a question for which there is no data in the system, they will receive a default response directing them to the county senior services office’s regular contact information.
“Then it gets flagged to us,” said Cullinen, adding that the project team continues to update the text line database as new information is learned and/or programs and services are updated.
In a county as geographically large as Ocean County, where more than 1 in 4 residents are already over the age of 65, the text line system can help local officials assess information gaps and gauge service needs among older residents, people with disabilities and caregivers.
Rutgers Hub for Aging Collaboration is also part of the project team – introducing the platform to Age-Friendly Ocean County, helping to plan for its initial launch and longer-term viability, and monitoring trends in requests for information from users.
That usage data analysis could be extremely helpful to local governments as they plan more innovative and efficient ways to address population aging. For example, the Ocean County Office of Senior Services typically receives 200 to 300 calls a day from residents seeking information about local services and resources. The text line could help meet rising demand in the future, while at the same time increasing the accessibility of that information at all times of day, rather than callers sometimes having to wait on hold during busy weekday hours.
During pilot testing from June through September, the Ocean County text line recorded 111 unique users and 571 resource referrals, reaching residents in 16 of the county’s 33 municipalities, according to a press release issued Oct. 28.
In Leonia and Fair Lawn, community leaders intend to use the text line in a more localized way, with initial start-up funding coming from a grant from The Henry & Marilyn Taub Foundation. Leonia has inputted its senior center calendar, library program information, as well as other information about municipal services. It also has developed online sign-up forms for locally sponsored trips and events, said Age-Friendly Leonia Coordinator Mary Gendron.
The Leonia “Ask Anything” text line will also be helpful with scheduling and other communications for a new program the borough is sponsoring called Leonia Together, which will feature teen volunteers assisting older residents with fall leaf cleanup and snow removal.
The platform has already proved helpful to town leaders, as it offers an efficient way to track attendance at activities and administer post-event surveys.
“It’s proving very easy to use, and we expect that it will catch on at once,” Gendron said. “Right now, we are mostly still in the test phase.”
Fair Lawn also plans for its text line, likely to be named Ask Local, to primarily be a source for local information, such as what can be found on the borough and Fair Lawn for All Ages websites, email service platforms, and social media sites, said Lisa MacClements, coordinator of Fair Lawn for All Ages.
Fair Lawn residents will also be able to use it to make a reservation for the town bus, and MacClements thinks it will vastly improve communication and scheduling for the borough’s Student Volunteer Corps program, which offers older residents assistance with yard chores and snow removal.
“I’ll be able to communicate with my student volunteers in real time, and that will mean we’ll be able to deploy them more efficiently,” she said.
MacClements expects the text line to be a big hit with older residents when launched later this year, as most of them are adept at smartphone use and already use texting as a primary means of communication.
“We’re not introducing a technology that’s scary or difficult,” she said. “The one bit of technology that most older residents are well-versed in is their smartphone. Right out of the gate, residents are going to be able to use this because texting is already the way they are communicating with their friends and families.”
The Ocean County Text Line can be reached at 848-266-6981.
The Leonia “Ask Anything” Text Line can be reached at 201-540-9364.