A Community for Every Age Starting a conversation about aging in place
Wyour golden years? If you’re
here do you imagine spending
like most people, you want to age in place—to stay in the home you’ve loved and cared for as long as you are able. To make aging in place possible, it is important to think ahead about things like home modifications, transportation access, and healthcare services. One critical step in this process is to start talking with loved ones about your plans to age in place.
Copyright, The Roanoke Times, reprinted by permission.
George Waskowicz, a senior in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, shows Helen Capobianco where her sewing machine is broken during a repair café at the Habitat ReStore in Christiansburg.
A housing survey performed by the Aging in Place Leadership Team found that many people would only make home improvements after they had a health crisis--not before. But the stress of managing a major home construction project while you are sick might be too much to bear. “You can’t just assume that your home will be safe and accessible if and when you have health problems,” said Carol Davis, Blacksburg sustainability manager who serves on the New River Valley Aging in Place leadership team. Having a plan for how you might run errands, maintain your home, Have you thought about the five and manage extra expenses can help prevent essentials to age in place? unwelcome surprises. “Losing your self-sufficiency 1) Housing can creep up on you, and the results can be 2) Health and Wellness financially and emotionally devastating,” Davis 3) Transportation added. 4) Personal Finance 5) Social Support and To help people start these conversations, the Connections Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech is offering a class to help New River Valley residents begin the process. Blacksburg is also working toward earning an Age Friendly Community certification from AARP, and wants to ensure that town plans and services can align with the changing needs of all its residents. “When communities take steps to be more age-friendly, it doesn’t just benefit retirees—good, accessible design improves the community for everyone,” Davis explained. To learn more about aging in place, email sustainability@blacksburg.gov or visit the local AARP chapter website at http://www.blacksburgaarp.org/.
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