Groton — “Who needs Florida!” Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons announced to a group of more than 100 people gathered Saturday for the region’s first Seniors Strong Summit at the Mystic Marriott.

Simmons, touting his own town’s efforts to establish a retirement-friendly community, introduced a panel of speakers who quickly delved into the topic of the graying population and how to best address the needs of seniors.

The gathering was organized by the nonprofit Mystic Geriatrics Institute and was a mix of speakers and interactive panel discussions focusing on things like geriatric medical care, Alzheimer’s research and treatments and how to create a multigenerational community.

Keynote speaker Francis “Bitsie” Clark, executive director of the nonprofit HomeHaven in New Haven, said there is a nationwide movement to create “Village Communities” like HomeHaven, where neighbors have come together to create multi-generational neighborhoods and provide services.

The movement started at Beacon Hill Village in Massachusetts, where residents began a grass-roots movement with a focus of allowing seniors to stay in their homes and preserve their independence. More than 200 such villages have cropped up across the U.S., some with paid staff and some completely run by volunteers, Clark said.

Clark said the U.S. is good about providing benefits to the poor and the wealthy have many options for retirement communities, “but what about everybody in the middle — this huge baby boomer group coming along?” The virtual villages fill some of those needs, she said.

Tim Driver, founder of Retirementjobs.com and Mature Caregivers, was another keynote speaker at the event and advocated for towns to provide more services and for seniors to find employment later in life to stay engaged.

He said people are living longer, are increasingly single and have smaller and often more spread-out families that creates a shrinking circle of care. It can lead to isolation, sometimes depression. Work, including volunteerism, is a way to stay engaged and provide purpose for many seniors.

“Quality of living for mature citizens boils down to the level of engagement they have in their own community,” Driver said. “How do we help more older Americans engage more in their communities?”

Part of the answer is that communities need to do more to give elders access to work in organizations that want them, he said.

Part of the unfortunate problem, Driver said, is that most employers are not age-friendly. In 1950, Driver said 27 percent of people over the age of 50 were a part of the labor force. The number dropped to 12.5 percent in 1994 but has since increased to 18.5 percent.

He argued it is “an incredibly good thing” that the number has increased and it can allow seniors to be less reliant on entitlements.

He also said communities need to show more financial focus on senior spaces, such as senior centers and libraries — “a fabulous hub in communities to bring together multiple generations.”

Americo Petrocelli, 86, a resident at StoneRidge in Stonington who helped to spearhead the summit, said the mission of the Mystic Geriatrics Institute is to provide an awareness of the best practices that will “maintain the dignity, comfort and wellness of seniors living hopefully in a multigenerational village.”

Simmons said the group is setting a standard for the region and the entire state and Stonington has made a focused effort on the health of its seniors.

Senior services are a key component of the town’s economy, Simmons said, and the town has focused on ensuring that its citizens are able to work, raise their children and retire in town without having to worry about whether their needs will be met.

Through its plan of conservation and development, the town has established long-term planning to address senior services and encourage establishment of private and nonprofit programs for seniors.

The town is home to the StoneRidge Senior Independent Retirement Community, the Masonicare at Mystic retirement community and has planned construction of a Geriatrics Campus on the former Perkins Farm property across from StoneRidge.

“These are steps in the right direction,” Simmons said.

g.smith@theday.com