AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM KEEPS SENIORS SAFELY AT HOME
You’re never too old to stop loving your home, but what if you reach an age where you can no longer live in it
safely? Thanks to the Howard County Office on Aging’s popular Aging in Place Program, that day may be farther off than it once was. Since 2000, says program manager Mary Becker, the initiative has helped roughly 450 clients per year modify their homes so they can “age in place.”
Offering an array of services — from suggesting structural additions like bathtub grab bars or wheelchair ramps, to the scheduling of occupational therapy assessments and caregiver training — the program seeks to keep residents aged 62 or older (or disabled individuals of any age) in their houses for as long as those residents desire.
Subsidies are available to help lower income participants pay for certain repairs, but all seniors can receive, at no cost, the Aging in Place Program’s expert advice on ways to continue living securely at home. Because there’s no place like it. *
