Aging at Home a Popular Idea in Westchester County

The Center for Aging in Place Support (CAPS) recently hosted a seminar to inform residents about how to best age at home. A newly-established not-for-profit organization, CAPS addresses the establishment of community-based, membership-focused aging-in-place groups as a viable alternative to moving into a 'seniors only' facility.

Westchester, NY (PRWEB) May 26, 2009 -- The Center for Aging in Place Support (CAPS) recently hosted a seminar to inform residents about how to best age at home. A newly-established not-for-profit organization, CAPS addresses the establishment of community-based, membership-focused aging-in-place groups as a viable alternative to moving into a 'seniors only' facility.

Nearly 100 people attended the seminar, which took place at the Greenburgh Public Library, to learn about various models of existing aging-in-place communities that have been successful in other areas in the country.

Presenters included Julie Dalton, Executive Director of Gramatan Village, Bronxville; Dick and Vicky Bergman, co-founders of Community Without Walls, Princeton, New Jersey; and Patricia Moore, President of the Watergate Initiative in Washington, D.C. Mae Carpenter, Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, also addressed the audience about the County's Livable Community initiative.

"Westchester County is the first county in the country with a coordinated county-wide movement to develop grassroots aging in place organizations," said Robert Waldman, president of CAPS. "It is our hope that Westchester can be a model for the nation, not only in the number of consumer organized and directed aging in place organizations, but in expanding the idea about how to form these organizations."

Growth in the county's population of aging adults is creating increased need for services and support. The New York State Department of Transportation projects that by the year 2010, those aged 60 and over in Westchester County will number about 191,000, and in the year 2020, that population segment will reach 231,000.

"These numbers provide an important perspective for us in terms of the increasing urgency for aging in place communities," said Amy Paul, CAPS executive director.

Aging in place membership communities are vibrant, social and cultural networks. They seek to be responsive to their members' interests and evolving needs, and frequently offer volunteer as well as arrange for pre-screened private pay home repair and other services to make staying in their own homes more possible. Additionally, aging in place communities empower and tap into their members' strengths and talents to assist older neighbors.

For more information about CAPS, call 914.980.8379, visit www.aipsupport.org or email apaul(at)aipsupport.org.
                    
About the Center for Aging in Place Support: The Center for Aging in Place Support (CAPS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that nurtures and helps sustain aging in place groups in Westchester at the grassroots level. For more information, please visit www.aipsupport.org.

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