Westchester County Wins A Top Aging-in-Place Award
I'm not sure that I buy this. One thing that the article is short on are specific details on what entails a successful aging-in-place community. Given that this is being given to one of the toniest 'burbs in New York and is coming from AARP that never has seen a tax on the young that it didn't support - provided of course the benefits went to seniors; taxes on the young for the young don't concern them unless it sucks too much money away from their prized objectives.
New York's boomer population is, well, booming and as the 50+ population across the state and nation continues to soar, municipalities are faced with an array of issues from planning to public policies. Today, at the 21st Annual Golden Harvest Awards in Tarrytown, AARP honored Westchester County with a top designation for its innovative approach in tackling issues facing the 50+, naming the county a World Health Organization's age-friendly community.
A look at the website for The Center for Aging-In-Place shows that they have an impressive amount of organizational activity and volunteer recruitment. What's missing are details on home modifications and such that are needed for the aging-in-place community. It's nice to give someone a ride but people spend a huge amount of time in their homes. Aging-in-place should most directly addresses that.
But that is the hard problem. Modifying a house is a potentially expensive issue and determining the most cost-effective means to improving the safety of the homeowner - often female, often living alone -takes time, talent and knowledge. One of the primary issues that I have with the programs that I have seen so far it that they either look at government solutions that sound good on a regional basis but fail to get to the nitty-gritty of actually making changes in the individual's home or, much worse and fortunately rarer, the unscrupulous contractor that is looking to separate the senior citizen from as much cash as possible, as quickly as possible.
Aging-in-place means just that. Working with the senior citizen in their home, modifying it as most feasible, to allow them to spend their remaining years at home.
It's not a cab service, garden club or a goldmine. It's about homes - not houses - and the loved ones that live there.