7 June 2016

Copied from the Wall Street Journal

“Aging in Place” is a hot topic.  Three resources can help a great deal.  Start with a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University:  “Housing America’s Older Adults” Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population.” 
(Go to http://www.jchs.harvard.edu and highlight:  Research.” 

The study identifies five features, in particular, that make for safe and accessible home:  no-step entries; single floor living; switches and outlets reachable at any height; extra doors; and lever-style door and faucet handles.  “The good news:  Almost 90% of existing homes have at least one of these features, the study notes.  The bad news:  Only 57% have more than one.”

Next, check out the National Association of Home Builders and its “Aging-in-Place Remodeling Checklist.”  (Go to http://www.nahb.org  and search for:  aging in place.”  Here, you will find more than 100 suggestions (including eight for entryways alone” that can help homeowners age 50-plus live” safely, independently and comfortable.”

Finally, there is the “Homefit Guide” from AARP, the Washington-based advocacy group.  “Go to http://www.aarp.org and search for:  Homefit.”  This 26-page report, filled with diagrams, explains how to create a “lifelong home,” one that’s “suitable for anyone, regardless of age or physical ability.”

All are well worth your time.”