Seniors And Aging in Place

My father passed away almost two years ago in the home he had shared for years with my mother. My mother now lives alone. According to an AARP survey, 89 percent of older adults want to stay in the homes and neighborhoods that they know and love. The reality is that even if they didn’t want to stay in their homes, aging in place is certainly much more affordable. The costs of assisted living facilities in the San Mateo County area can easily exceed $6000 per month or $72,000 a year. For all but the wealthiest of seniors that is simply not affordable. Nonetheless seniors have special needs.

My mother still drives. Although we do try as much as possible these days to travel to her, pick her up and take her home; more than anything I think she still enjoys the knowledge that if need be she can get into her car and do what she needs to do. She drives to the local library where she volunteers helping new immigrants learn English. She drives to the local bakery to buy her favorite bread. And once a week she still drives over the San Mateo bridge to spend the week-end with one of her children.

According to the 2013 census, there were 107,000 people 65 years and older living in San Mateo County. More importantly, the census projects a 48 % growth in the senior population to about 158,000 by 2030. The silver tsunami as it is being called is upon us. Although we have an influx of young technology workers into the county, the fact is that one in four residents of San Mateo county will be over the age of sixty five by 2030.

During this campaign, I have met many seniors in the community. The Veterans Center in Red Morton park has an active community of seniors that meet for lunch a couple of days a week, play Bocce Ball, Bingo and share many other activities. Some of their needs are simple but critical. Many of them told me that while they enjoy riding the shuttles to downtown, they would really like to have benches. For example, not being able to sit while waiting for a bus or a shuttle can be hard. Likewise walking around the neighborhoods without resting is also a challenge. Benches and the ability to sit and rest as they go could make a huge difference.

Aside from issues like transportation, seniors need help with simple handyman services that they can call on in a a reliable and safe manner. While this piece cannot get into all the issues regarding senior healthcare, there are many simple measure that we can take that will make a big difference. As noted in the State Survey on Livability Policies and Practices, developed by AARP and the National Council of State Legislatures “solutions that help seniors age in place are considerably cheaper.... and will actually save seniors and taxpayers money be making transportation and services more efficient, while lowering overall healthcare expenditures.”

Supporting our seniors in ways that allow them to remain in the homes they love, learning from them, enabling them to maintain active social lives, and setting up small things -- benches, appropriate public transportation options, reliable, safe service providers -- are all win win solutions for society at large.