Our ideas about spirituality and our connection to others, the universe, and the world around us vary over time, and, because spirituality is tied to the search for meaning, it becomes an interesting platform for gerontologists and their work with older adults. The two activities in this chapter bring both breadth and depth to the issue of spirituality in the context of end-of-life issues and, specifically, a direct assessment that connects students to their own selves and older adults. In Activity 1, Spiritual Assessment, Beran brings to the classroom a tool that allows students to reflect on their own spirituality and then compare that to an understanding of the broad concept of spirituality. In Activity 2, Exploring Cultural Death Practices Through Group Presentations, Claver and Goeller provide an opportunity for students to become more engaged in considering death and dying and later life in a cultural context.

Diverse components of the aging networks have been involved in research, education, and practice in the area of emergency and disaster planning. This chapter covers a broad array of topics related to the well-being and the rights of older adults, including elder justice, the Ombudsman program, and legal assistance. It is important to view the supports for older adults from the perspective of empowerment and autonomy rather than from where we have been in the past with programs that foster dependence and operate from a paternalistic attitude about aging, including the view that professionals know what is best and, at the very least, someone other than the older adult knows what is right and what is needed. The aging networks can achieve this by promoting programs that are “active aging” focused and grounded in the social determinants of health as the organizing principle.