Most seniors want to stay in their own homes till their final days. Programs have been in place to do this for a long time and many are getting new attention as baby boomers plan to retire and age in place.

The first NORC [National Occurring Retirement Community] program began in New York City in 1985. Now, funded by grants from government, foundations such as the Denver-based Daniels Fund, and social service agencies, there are such programs in 25 states. A struggle for funding means the growth has been sporadic. Only New York has a state program that designates NORCs and funds programs. Most federal money for the programs - about $23 million since 2001 - has come from "earmarking," funds obtained by a member of Congress for a specific program. Those who advocate for services for the seniors say expanding the programs is urgent. As baby boomers age, the number of seniors will explode: the Census Bureau predicts that by 2030, almost 20% of the population, or 71.5 million people, will be older than 65, compared with less than 13% now. Not only will many of those seniors want to grow old at home, some of them will have to. "You can't possibly build enough senior housing for every senior," says Julia Pierson, a senior housing consultant in Baltimore, where there is a NORC program.

JANUARY 1, 2007, Programs Offer Seniors Option to Age at Home, by Martha Moore, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com.

This program is part of a growing movement nationwide to help aging suburbanites like Youngblood stay in their homes safely for as long as possible. About 90% of retirees and 80% of baby-boomers say they want to remain in their longtime neighborhoods indefinitely, according to an AARP survey. Many community planners believe that aging-in-place programs could help many elderly homeowners avoid institutional care. More than 100 programs exist in places as diverse as Boston's Beacon Hill, New Canaan, Conn., Madison, Wis., and the Indianapolis suburbs. Often, it's the small, inexpensive service -- a ride to a doctor's appointment or home-delivered groceries -- that can make all the difference. In 2004, an agency in the Indianapolis suburbs met this challenge by buying a house in one of the neighborhoods and turning it into the program's office. "Our front door looks like their front door," says Lori Moss, coordinator of ElderSource, a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. "We had to build rapport with residents. So being physically in their neighborhood makes a big difference." ElderSource created Elder-Friendly Communities, which covers an area of mostly two story, three-bedroom homes built 40 to 50 years ago. "Our program works in the suburbs because we literally went door-to-door to introduce ourselves," says Claudette Einhorn, chairperson for ElderSource.

APRIL 8, 2008, Family-Friendly 'Burbs Turn Senior Friendly, by Leah Dobkin, provided by Kiplinger, Yahoo Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com. [posted 4/24/2008]