“I think that when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself.”
-Oprah Winfrey

Aging in place is more than being in an environment of choice as one gets older, it means home; a place for emotional and functional needs to be met. A foundation where family histories are created and rich memories have been woven from shared experiences.

Home contains a life-time of cherished objects that support identity and delight the senses. It’s also community and those daily rituals you’ve come to love. You plan to stay; it’s where you live.

You’ve Got Options as you Age

The essence of home is to feel safe in an environment where you have the ability to control and enjoy your experiences. However, aging can lead to reduced physical abilities and loss of “environmental competence”–or the ability to get around. Later in life that home you love can become difficult to maintain or even unsafe.

The good news is that with a growing number of housing modification options, care giving, assistive technologies, behavioral adaptations, and green strategies for aging in place, the home may actually serve to maintain independence by compensating for reduced functioning, as well as help the environment for future generations.