Aging in Place and Living Independently A 2021 AARP Home and Community Preference Survey reported that 77% of Americans ages 50 and older want to remain in their current residence as they age. 8 The ability for a person to remain in their own home as they age depends on many factors, including safety and mobility within the home, availability of transportation, availability of food and other essentials such as health care services, and caregiving. In our 2022-2023 Community Needs Assessment, 81.6% of survey respondents Older Adults Who Have Difficulty with Maintenan c e, Housekeeping, and Yard Work
indicated that they had issues with the regular maintenance and repair of their home. 71.8% of respondents indicated an issue with housekeeping–with need only increasing with age. In line with this trend, 69.1% of respondents reported an issue maintaining their yard, with need increasing with age. These results show that many older adults in Pima County have difficulty independently living in their own home without support and services that help them with some tangible daily tasks.
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
0% 5%
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Regular home maintenance and repairs
Housekeeping Yard work
According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, 40.2% of retirees rely solely on Social Security Income. 9 With the average Social Security monthly benefit being $1,907 10 it is easy to see how so many older adults could struggle to pay for unexpected home maintenance, repairs, and modifications. Since 1977, home maintenance, repair, and adaptation have been at the forefront of our critical work to help older people live with dignity and independence as they age. These important services have been underfunded in recent years, with increased financial strain from the COVID-19 pandemic causing particular impact to services in subsequent years.
Yardwork and maintenance are often areas of one’s home that can be easily neglected, leading to falling home values and increased complaints to the city or county code enforcement. In Pima County, though we have the opportunity to help many with safety-related issues to their home, the ability to help someone complete yard work and maintenance is highly limited. Living on one’s own depends on one’s ability to safely accomplish home maintenance. As we get older, many people struggle with the ability to safely complete activities of daily living such as bathing or personal hygiene. 36.8% of survey respondents reported some level of difficulty with bathing and/or other personal hygiene. This struggle only increased with age, with the highest level of people needing assistance being in 8 (AARP, n.d.) 9 (Bond & Porell, 2020) 10 (KA-01903, 2024)
A Report to the Community
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Pima Council on Aging
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