The Great Falls Senior Center (GFSC) hosts the AARP “Home Fit” Workshop at its May event. Senior residents will learn how to decide those types of home adjustments needed to stay in their homes as they age.
The goal is to better equip residents to go about their daily lives while maintaining a comfortable, independent and injury-free lifestyle.
AARP surveys show that nearly 90 percent of the 50-plus population want to stay in their homes and communities as they age. AARP says that living in one’s home a long time is easier when that home has been well-designed or updated to meet changing needs.
The workshop is designed to educate the 50-and-up population on how to make their homes more “livable” by incorporating Universal Design (UD), an approach to home building and remodeling that centers on safety and ease of movement inside and outside the home. AARP and the National Association of Home Builders created the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) program to train building professionals to educate consumers about home and neighborhood features that promote successful aging.
Several years after it was established in 1958, AARP conducted exhaustive research on the daily living activities of aging persons. It then built one of the first model homes with what are now called “universal design” elements—no-step entries, grab bars in bathrooms, non-skid floors, electric outlets 18 inches above the floor, wide doorways and kitchen cabinets within easy reach.
The May event sponsor is Great Falls Assisted Living, a memory care community at 1121 Reston Ave. in Herndon.
The GFSC May 7 event will take place at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 1020 Springvale Road, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be served; a modest contribution is appreciated. Reservations are a must: e-mail Joyce Trickett at joygoodshepherd@verizon.net or call 703-887-5772. Guests who require transportation to attend should call Gene or Maddie McCabe at 703-438-0810.