Aging in Canada

Aging in Place

“First we shape our buildings, then they shape us”

[Winston Churchill, 1943]

Sociology of Aging (TM)

March 28th 2012

Aging in Place is the decision made by older people living into old age to stay in the same place they lived in during their middle years. It is an idea whose time has come and a new policy that attempts to provide older people with environmental, social, and economic supports so they can stay in their own homes instead of going into institutions. The term was coined in the early 1980s and is just recently gaining wide support for a variety of reasons. This paper seeks to examine the overall alternative of aging in place, the reasons behind its prospering influence, explanations of healthy housing, flexhousing, the village model and how aging in place was manifested in the lives of both Maxine (Bunny) Drudge and Leona McLeod.

Older people, especially those in cities, express a desire to age in place. When they live in the home of their choice, equipped with tools and design features that support independence, it assures that the individual is safe. The concept of aging in place is now gaining wide support for four key reasons. The first reason stems from the idea that the fastest growing part of the elderly population is those who are 75 and over. This population has a growing need for services and a supportive physical environment to help cope with decreased abilities related to chronic conditions which often necessitate a different kind of environment than the one they grew up in. The second and third are based on the cost of developing new construction, re-arranging living situations and having enough spots in long-term care facilities. It can be less expensive to support someone in their current residence than to move them to into a nursing home, retirement home or to build new housing. The fourth and most crucial reason aging in place is becoming popular is the increasing recognition that older persons express a strong preference for continuity in their living arrangements (Scott).

Allowing people to age in the place of their choice requires a continuum of supports and care services which respond promptly to individuals as their needs change. The integration of all of these services is essential and one way to facilitate aging in place is to offer a range of these care services, assuring residents care appropriate to their needs as they age and the information needed to accomplish their goal. Things like what services