Aging at Home

While the media often portray people as downsizing and moving as they age, most people resist. They want to remain in the homes they’ve grown comfortable in over the years. They also want to remain in the same communities where they have ties. It’s not an impossible dream. You don’t have to move simply because you’re older and can’t do everything you used to. The Washington Post has a good piece on how some people in the Washington, D.C. people are doing just that. They’ve learned how to have their homes modified to meet their new needs and where to get help when needed from outside organizations.

If you insist on complete independent and self-sufficiency, you aren’t going to do well. But if you learn to make use of some additional resources and have the money to modify your home and receive some help, you can stay in your long-time home longer.

In the Washington region, the population of people 65 and older rose 29 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the Brookings Institution. That has spurred a number of new programs in the “aging in place” movement, which aims to help elderly people such as Cousins remain in their homes rather than relocate to assisted-living facilities.

“I’m an independent man,” said Cousins, who’s lived in the house since 1968. “I don’t like to be on an institution schedule. I don’t take well to rules I don’t agree with.”

The movement to accommodate elderly people in their homes is growing rapidly in this region, with villages becoming a more popular option.