Blaze a trail
May 18, 2016
By: Dawn Springgate
Email: sprindm@dshs.wa.gov
Come on baby boomers…it’s Older Americans Month and its theme is Blaze a Trail.
Your generation, as teens and young adults, observed and participated in the greatest social movements during the 60’s, 70’s and beyond. From the Civil Right movement, to “second-wave” feminist cause, to peace, political and environmental movements, you have helped make extraordinary shifts in educational, economic, and social opportunities.
Your youth was a time of passion, fun, and grand ideas about reorganizing society and culture. Some of you participated in lifestyle experimentation, like living in communes.
You were the first generation brought up on television and had first access to computers.
The enormous size of your generation and your ability to rally in large numbers made the significant difference in pushing through major changes.
And there is nothing to stop you from initializing change now and changing the perceptions of aging.
The first of the baby boomer population is turning 70 years old this year. And every day 10,000 people turn 65! WOW!
As the fastest growing age bracket, you will continue to have the ability to influence and revolutionize the perceptions regarding the aging process, especially with housing.
Some ideas are already taking hold. There are different growing trends in how aging in place is being looked at by baby boomers.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, typical home ownership for people 65 and older is 80 percent, whereas the national average is 65 percent.
Most Americans want to live at home for as long as possible but sometimes that can be challenging for single, divorced or widowed people. With limited income and savings that were drastically reduced from the recent recession, it is often a struggle to maintain a home independently.
Baby boomers are also recognizing the need for socialization and support systems.
And 22 percent of baby boomer households consist of a single person. These facts have started the shared housing trend, or commonly referred to as the “Golden Girls” style living.
Whether they are joining forces in someone’s home or pooling money to build a house together, this trend is allowing people to continue to live independently without breaking their budgets.
If you are wanting to participate in this growing movement you can check out this website for more information: https://nationalsharedhousing.org/program-directory/ or goldengirlsnetwork.com (membership required).
Another trend is creating stronger bonds right where you live in “aging” communities. A grassroots development helped to create the Village to Village Network (https://www.vtvnetwork.org)
“Village to Village Network (VtV) is a national peer to peer network to help establish and continuously improve management of their own villages whether in large metropolitan areas, rural towns or suburban settings.” And the mission of VtV “is to enable communities to establish and effectively manage aging in community organizations initiated and inspired by their members.”
It’s pretty much neighbors helping neighbors in an organized fashion. What better way to age in place when you are all working together to make it happen.
This leads to another idea – developing of creating co-housing communities. It’s actually building a “town” open to all ages, families and individuals actively working together create a cohesive supportive environment. People are expected to participate in committees, activities and socialize. Citizens actively help each other out. An example would be Nevada City Cohousing in California. You can learn more by visiting www.nccoho.org/
Then there are these types of co-housing communities being developed just for people 55 and older. One such development is actually happening in our backyard, Port Townsend, called Quimper Village.
Quimper Village will be a residential cohousing community of 28 condominium townhouses, a Common House and other shared amenities. For more information visit https://www.quimpervillage.com/
These are some great innovative ideas and I am sure there are plenty more out there just waiting for the right circumstances to take off.
What are your ideas on aging in place? Maybe it’s time to start talking to your neighbors, city councils and developers. Maybe put together a local think tank and see what ideas come up!
I know there are many of you out there itching to say something and share your ideas on this topic. Speak up!
Perhaps attending the Building Your Caregiver Tool Box Spring Conference on Aging in Place would be a great place to spark some interest. The conference is on Friday, May 20th from 1 pm to 3 pm. It will consist of a question and answer panel with professionals from local senior related agencies.
To register, email me at sprindm@dshs.wa.gov or call 360-417-3378.
And in the words of author Seth Godin, “Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.” Now is the time to being taking action on how and where you want to be aging!
Olympic Area Agency on Aging offices/Information & Assistance: Forks 360-374-9496, Port Townsend 360-385-2552, and Sequim 360-452-3221. Visit us online at www.o3a.org, www.twitter.com/olympic3a, www.pinterest.com/Olympic3A or on Facebook: Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information and Assistance