Living Alternatives
America fetishizes self-reliance, often pushing us into isolated bubbles or—if we fail the independence test—into impersonal “nursing homes” as we age. Lots of alternatives are being developed by entrepreneurial elders and youngers as well. Here’s some food for thought. Each link, as you know, will reveal many more resources.
IF YOU WANT TO MOVE, CHOOSE A LIVABLE PLACE
AARP works with local civic leaders all over the country to create livable communities through AARP’s Livable Communities Initiative. You can check out your own city’s “livability” through AARP’s site here. Also, check out the Milken Institute’s list of Best Cities for Successful Aging.
While you’re thinking about places you might move, check out so-called “Blue Zones” – cities (Loma Linda, CA, is the only one in the U.S.) where residents live a decade longer than their neighbors. The longevity seems to be due to a plant-based diet, exercise, sense of purpose, strong social networks, and stress management. AARP’s Blue Zone Vitality Project in Albert Lea, MN, is instructive.
IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN PLACE, CONNECT
The “Village to Village” network connects local community initiatives to enable elders to stay in their homes by connecting them with each other and with caregivers and other helpers (like plumbers, carpenters, cleaners, errand-runners) in their communities. Athens, Ohio has a terrific model in Athens Village, and there are lots more.
Intentional Communities / Co-housing
Intentional intergenerational communities are springing up like cactus flowers after a rainstorm. They're still far too rare, but co-housing communities are spreading, and are a godsend for many people of all ages. Two organizations -- Fellowship for Intentional Community, and, simply, Cohousing -- are go-to sources of information and support for people living in and interested in intentional communities. The Fellowship for Intentional Communities has a great set of highly informative introductory videos.
A variety of intentional community, Minka Homes and Communities, is being pioneered by Dr. Bill Thomas, the indispensable human being and geriatrician behind such innovations in elder group living as the Eden Alternative and the Green House Project (see below). In Japanese, "Minka" refers to homes for ordinary people. The homes Dr. Thomas and his collaborators are pioneering are modular, inexpensive, and quick to build. Working with the University of Southern Indiana, Dr. Thomas and his team are developing a community-building model they call MAGIC (Multi-Ability, Multi-Generational Inclusive Communities) using Minka homes. This is an exciting development in housing for any age and ability.
IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN PLACE, BE AWARE OF AVAILABLE SERVICES
Your Area Agency on Aging is probably the best place to start searching for help.
Reader Delia Hicks Delia Hicks passed on this article from Angie's List about making your house wheelchair friendly, which she found very useful. Thank you, Delia!
Task Rabbit and Hello Alfred let you find someone fast to do anything around the house. You can use Uber and Lyft to get around. uberASSIST uses drivers trained to assist riders who need extra help getting around.
At least two professional companies--Rest Assured and Full Circle America—help families put together the many different types of support their aging relatives might need to stay safely in their own homes.
Then there’s Carelinx, which matches families and caregivers, aiming to save money for families and increase caregiver wages.
In Washtenaw County, Michigan, check out the free, nonprofit Housing Bureau for Seniors out of Michigan Medicine, which helps you decide whether and how to stay in your home as you age.
IF YOU NEED OR WANT A GROUP HOME, CHOOSE CAREFULLY
If you decide to move out of your own home, you MUST know about the living alternatives pioneered by the brilliant geriatrician Bill Thomas. Dr. Thomas began decades ago, by bringing plants and animals into a dim nursing home, transforming residents’ lives through connection and purpose. This seemingly simple act launched the Eden Alternative, which has grown into a system of principles of compassionate, person-centered care for elders and their care partners, with training and conferences worldwide. The Consumer Guide developed by the Eden Alternative is a priceless support for families trying to evaluate residential options for their elders. After the Eden Alternative, Dr. Thomas went on to develop the Green House Project, a national network of well-staffed small-group homes for frail elders. The Eden Alternative and Green House Project are models for the future, spreading rapidly, and their related websites contain mountains of essential information.
Elders with dementia--even those stuck in sub-optimal (sometimes sub-human) facilities that sap them of identity, purpose, and meaning--can be transformed by music. Watch “Alive Inside” to believe this, and visit the affiliated website, Music & Memory, to learn more about and support the program bringing life-changing music to humans with dementia.
IF YOU'RE CAREGIVING, FIND SUPPORT
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA)
For 40 years, FCA has supported and sustained the important work of families and friends nationwide who care for adult loved ones of any age with chronic, disabling health conditions. Now headed up by Executive Director Kathleen Kelly, FCA produces a website that offers a superb state-by-state directory of services, learning resources, personal stories, and more.
Caregiving.com
Like the Family Caregiver Alliance, Caregiving.com, founded by a caregiver named Denise Brown, is a supportive resource for caregivers of individuals of all ages and abilities. It doesn't have the advocacy and research agenda of FCA, but the website is loaded with resources and connections that will be helpful for many kinds for caregivers.
Daughterhood
As the name suggests, Daughterhood was founded by caregiver Anne Tumlinson specifically to support women caring for aging parents. Men, of course, care for aging parents too, and can gain a great deal from this resource-rich website. But women provide the vast majority of unpaid care--not just in the US, but around the world--and all of the women who do so are daughters. This is a terrific woman-to-woman heart-to-heart kind of site.
Caring across Generations
Founded by MacArthur Fellow and author Ai-jen Poo, and activist Sarita Gupta, Caring across Generations is at this time primarily an advocacy organization designed to bring awareness to the unheralded value of the priceless and often thankless work of caregivers. The site is not boiling with resources like other sites, but looking at it will bring the deep relief of knowing that compassionate voices are hard at work on caregivers' behalf.
IF YOU NEED HELP WITH MEDICARE -- AND WHO DOESN'T? -- GO HERE
Medicare could not be more confusing, and Boomer Health Group, led by "Medicare Guru" Joanne Giardini-Russell, is your comprehensive solution. And guess what? You don't pay -- the brokers do. Contact them now!
An overarching issue for consideration is design for humans
Individuals—old, young, different in any way—are often blamed when the built environment doesn’t work for them. What if, instead of blaming the users, we blamed the design? The movement toward “universal design” does just that, and advocates for all-age-friendly design in all built environments. Check out universal design principles.
IF YOU WANT TO MOVE, CHOOSE A LIVABLE PLACE
AARP works with local civic leaders all over the country to create livable communities through AARP’s Livable Communities Initiative. You can check out your own city’s “livability” through AARP’s site here. Also, check out the Milken Institute’s list of Best Cities for Successful Aging.
While you’re thinking about places you might move, check out so-called “Blue Zones” – cities (Loma Linda, CA, is the only one in the U.S.) where residents live a decade longer than their neighbors. The longevity seems to be due to a plant-based diet, exercise, sense of purpose, strong social networks, and stress management. AARP’s Blue Zone Vitality Project in Albert Lea, MN, is instructive.
IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN PLACE, CONNECT
The “Village to Village” network connects local community initiatives to enable elders to stay in their homes by connecting them with each other and with caregivers and other helpers (like plumbers, carpenters, cleaners, errand-runners) in their communities. Athens, Ohio has a terrific model in Athens Village, and there are lots more.
Intentional Communities / Co-housing
Intentional intergenerational communities are springing up like cactus flowers after a rainstorm. They're still far too rare, but co-housing communities are spreading, and are a godsend for many people of all ages. Two organizations -- Fellowship for Intentional Community, and, simply, Cohousing -- are go-to sources of information and support for people living in and interested in intentional communities. The Fellowship for Intentional Communities has a great set of highly informative introductory videos.
A variety of intentional community, Minka Homes and Communities, is being pioneered by Dr. Bill Thomas, the indispensable human being and geriatrician behind such innovations in elder group living as the Eden Alternative and the Green House Project (see below). In Japanese, "Minka" refers to homes for ordinary people. The homes Dr. Thomas and his collaborators are pioneering are modular, inexpensive, and quick to build. Working with the University of Southern Indiana, Dr. Thomas and his team are developing a community-building model they call MAGIC (Multi-Ability, Multi-Generational Inclusive Communities) using Minka homes. This is an exciting development in housing for any age and ability.
IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN PLACE, BE AWARE OF AVAILABLE SERVICES
Your Area Agency on Aging is probably the best place to start searching for help.
Reader Delia Hicks Delia Hicks passed on this article from Angie's List about making your house wheelchair friendly, which she found very useful. Thank you, Delia!
Task Rabbit and Hello Alfred let you find someone fast to do anything around the house. You can use Uber and Lyft to get around. uberASSIST uses drivers trained to assist riders who need extra help getting around.
At least two professional companies--Rest Assured and Full Circle America—help families put together the many different types of support their aging relatives might need to stay safely in their own homes.
Then there’s Carelinx, which matches families and caregivers, aiming to save money for families and increase caregiver wages.
In Washtenaw County, Michigan, check out the free, nonprofit Housing Bureau for Seniors out of Michigan Medicine, which helps you decide whether and how to stay in your home as you age.
IF YOU NEED OR WANT A GROUP HOME, CHOOSE CAREFULLY
If you decide to move out of your own home, you MUST know about the living alternatives pioneered by the brilliant geriatrician Bill Thomas. Dr. Thomas began decades ago, by bringing plants and animals into a dim nursing home, transforming residents’ lives through connection and purpose. This seemingly simple act launched the Eden Alternative, which has grown into a system of principles of compassionate, person-centered care for elders and their care partners, with training and conferences worldwide. The Consumer Guide developed by the Eden Alternative is a priceless support for families trying to evaluate residential options for their elders. After the Eden Alternative, Dr. Thomas went on to develop the Green House Project, a national network of well-staffed small-group homes for frail elders. The Eden Alternative and Green House Project are models for the future, spreading rapidly, and their related websites contain mountains of essential information.
Elders with dementia--even those stuck in sub-optimal (sometimes sub-human) facilities that sap them of identity, purpose, and meaning--can be transformed by music. Watch “Alive Inside” to believe this, and visit the affiliated website, Music & Memory, to learn more about and support the program bringing life-changing music to humans with dementia.
IF YOU'RE CAREGIVING, FIND SUPPORT
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA)
For 40 years, FCA has supported and sustained the important work of families and friends nationwide who care for adult loved ones of any age with chronic, disabling health conditions. Now headed up by Executive Director Kathleen Kelly, FCA produces a website that offers a superb state-by-state directory of services, learning resources, personal stories, and more.
Caregiving.com
Like the Family Caregiver Alliance, Caregiving.com, founded by a caregiver named Denise Brown, is a supportive resource for caregivers of individuals of all ages and abilities. It doesn't have the advocacy and research agenda of FCA, but the website is loaded with resources and connections that will be helpful for many kinds for caregivers.
Daughterhood
As the name suggests, Daughterhood was founded by caregiver Anne Tumlinson specifically to support women caring for aging parents. Men, of course, care for aging parents too, and can gain a great deal from this resource-rich website. But women provide the vast majority of unpaid care--not just in the US, but around the world--and all of the women who do so are daughters. This is a terrific woman-to-woman heart-to-heart kind of site.
Caring across Generations
Founded by MacArthur Fellow and author Ai-jen Poo, and activist Sarita Gupta, Caring across Generations is at this time primarily an advocacy organization designed to bring awareness to the unheralded value of the priceless and often thankless work of caregivers. The site is not boiling with resources like other sites, but looking at it will bring the deep relief of knowing that compassionate voices are hard at work on caregivers' behalf.
IF YOU NEED HELP WITH MEDICARE -- AND WHO DOESN'T? -- GO HERE
Medicare could not be more confusing, and Boomer Health Group, led by "Medicare Guru" Joanne Giardini-Russell, is your comprehensive solution. And guess what? You don't pay -- the brokers do. Contact them now!
An overarching issue for consideration is design for humans
Individuals—old, young, different in any way—are often blamed when the built environment doesn’t work for them. What if, instead of blaming the users, we blamed the design? The movement toward “universal design” does just that, and advocates for all-age-friendly design in all built environments. Check out universal design principles.