VERONA, N.J. — Retirement communities might have their perks, but Beryl O’Connor says it would be tough to match the birthday surprise she got in her backyard when she turned 80.
She was tending her garden when two girls from next door — “my buddies” — brought her a strawberry shortcake. It underscored why she wants to stay put in the house that she and her husband, who died 18 years ago, purchased in the late 1970s.
“I couldn’t just be around old people. That’s not my lifestyle,” she said. “I’d go out of my mind.”
Physically spry and socially active, O’Connor in many respects is the embodiment of “aging in place,” growing old in one’s own home and remaining engaged in the community rather than moving to a retirement facility.
According to surveys, aging in place is the overwhelming preference of Americans older than 50. But doing it successfully requires good fortune and support services.
About 10 miles northwest of Newark, Verona has roughly 13,300 residents nestled in less than 3 square miles. There’s a transportation network that takes older people on shopping trips and to medical appointments, and the town is benefiting from a $100,000 federal grant to put in place an aging-in-place program called VeronaLive.
VeronaLive strives to educate older people about services to help them address problems and stay active in the community. Its partners include the health and police departments, the rescue squad, public schools and religious groups.
Among the support services are a home-maintenance program with free safety checks and minor home repairs, access to a social worker and job counselor, a walking club and other social activities. In one program, a group of middle-school girls provided one-on-one computer training to about 20 older adults.
Social worker Connie Pifher, Verona’s health coordinator, said a crucial part of the initiative is educating older people to plan ahead realistically and constantly reassess their prospects for successfully aging in place.
“There are some people who just can do it, especially if they have family support,” Pifher said. “And then you run into people who think they can do it yet really can’t. You need to start educating people before a crisis hits.”
According to an Associated Press- poll conducted in October, 52 percent of baby boomers said they were unlikely to move someplace new in retirement. In a 2005 survey by AARP, 89 percent of people 50 and older said they would prefer to remain in their home indefinitely as they age.
That yearning, coupled with a widespread dread of going to a nursing home, has led to a nationwide surge of programs aimed at helping people stay in their neighborhoods longer.
One of the potential problems for people hoping to age in place is that their homes might not be senior- friendly.
“It becomes a challenge because we live in Peter Pan houses, designed for people who never grow old,” said Susan Bosak, a social scientist overseeing a program to boost intergenerational engagement in Tulsa, Okla.
In several states, there is debate about whether to promote aging in place by shifting more Medicaid dollars to community-based programs and away from traditional nursing facilities. But budget problems might complicate such efforts because some financially struggling states cut back on home health services that help keep some elderly people out of nursing homes.
