JACKSON, Miss.–Imagine it’s a sunny day. The wind is blowing, the birds are chirping and you can hear kids playing. Then, you hear another sound. It’s older people playing, too, just on different equipment. A playground for older people is coming to Mississippi.
It’s one of 50 being built across the country and this one will be the only one in Mississippi for now. It’ll be in inner city Jackson.
That’s because seniors in more “distressed” neighborhoods tend to be less healthy, said George Renaudin with Humana. That health insurance company has teamed up with Kaboom, a leading playground equipment manufacturer, to construct the new concept, multi-generational playgrounds.
“The idea is to help kids and grandkids all get active together,” said George Renaudin, a spokesperson for Humana.
He said seniors can expect to see resistance bands, flexibility machines, stretching exercises right along side the jungle gyms and teeter-totters.
“In Jackson we asked people in the community to come out and tell us what they wanted.”
He said that includes some green space and walking areas.
Renaudin said the idea came from trying to motivate people to have a healthy lifestyle.
“It’s about trying to reduce health risks through things like diabetes and high blood pressure.”
He said Humana partnered with the Medical Mall Foundation to make the playground an anchor for revitalizing the Homestead Heights neighborhood.
He said that for now this is the only one set to be built in Mississippi.
