Aging in Place is a national movement which takes a holistic view of aging. It considers all the various aspects of a person’s life to maintain optimum quality of life as they age. Since 2004, Aging in Place efforts in Vermont have focused on spreading information and awareness of the resources available in our state and communities to help retirees age healthfully and happily in the homes of their choice. The goal is for each person to have control of their options so he or she can enjoy and contribute as a vital, valued member of society for as long as possible.
Successful aging involves good communication, within families, with the larger community, and within each individual. It takes courage to adjust to the realities of our own changing bodies and circumstances. Loved ones must also have the courage to adjust to new roles and different relationships. No one can do it alone and there are resources available to help.
Scott Funk Vermont’s leading Aging in Place advocate. He received the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging’s 2006 Aging Advocate Award. He authors a monthly column published in papers and magazines around the state and speaks free of charge to community, church, social and business groups on various topics concerning Aging in Place.
In the Aging in Place columns archived here, as in the talks he gives, Scott speaks to the issues of older individuals in the context of family, community and society. Each of us is aging, each has aging loved ones. Aging is not a sign of our limitations, it is proof of our endurance. Issues of aging are among the most universal; for all of us are aging. We may not want to be old, but we certainly want to get older.
Aging in Place, it doesn’t happen by accident.
|
|