Local towns support ‘aging in place’

New research suggests half of baby boomers want to age in place in their homes, but just 29 percent of those polled have a plan in place to do so.

In the meantime, some area towns are doing their part to raise awareness.

The survey was conducted by The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and the MIT AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Hartford published the survey in conjunction with efforts to promote its “Home for a Lifetime” program to encourage consumers to think of future housing needs.

Survey respondents said being near family is the top factor in decisions on where to live as they grow older, ahead of feeling comfortable in their home and affordability.

While nearly all of those surveyed knew of improvements they could make to their homes as they age, only about one in four have done so.

“The boomers have new demands for old age,” said Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, in a written statement. “While they may choose to stay in the homes where they have their memories, marriages and mortgages, this will not be their parents”™ retirement. The next generation of older adults will value access and activity over retreat and retirement. This is why it”™s important that boomers think about their current living situation today.”

Couglin pointed to the ongoing study on the cost of elderly home care to employers ”“ MetLife, AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving have estimated the lost productivity in the workplace at a whopping $33 billion annually (MetLife runs its Mature Market Institute in Westport). Those costs add up in myriad ways: employees coming to work late or leaving early, taking leave or even rejecting a promotion that requires moving far away from elderly parents.

Some local communities are doing everything they can to have the community absorb some of that workload. If the phrase “aging in place” sounds familiar, it stands to reason ”“ the Community Fund of Darien chose that as the name of an initiative to accomplish that goal, with membership free to residents at least 60 years old. Other towns have their own efforts, including At Home in Greenwich and Staying Put in New Canaan.

In the case of Aging in Place in Darien, services include:

• free referral to local programs and “vetted” service providers such as handymen (one service in town is called Small Tasks Force), caregivers, computer technicians, grocery shoppers, transportation and health programs;
• a seniors resources directory of local services that benefit seniors; and
• a newsletter that among other things highlights health and safety tips.

With a supportive resident and tax base, Darien has developed an impressive array of services that could serve as a model for any community, highlighted in an edition of its newsletter last year.

For two decades, it has run the Gallivant minibus to transport seniors to doctors, the market and other destinations in Darien, Stamford and Norwalk (the service is free but suggests a $5 donation; the town also features subsidized, half-price taxi vouchers).

It also sponsors events such as a lunch last October titled “How to Live to Be 100” featuring the medical director of Stamford Hospital”™s Health & Fitness Institute.

And a Darien woman named Wyn Lydecker runs the Independent Seniors blog offering advice on how seniors can remain independent.