neighborhood

 The first time I heard the term "NORC" was a couple of years ago at the West 7th Community Center.  I had to stop the meeting and ask for a definition.  NORC is an acronym for Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. 

NORCs are very real estate related and they are not planned communities. Rather, they evolve as people:

• Age in place. Many communities house residents who raised families there decades ago and never left. They strongly wish to continue living in their homes of long standing.

• Move into the community. A pattern of in-migration often brings seniors into age-integrated communities, typically in urban centers, where the seniors have access to amenities, culture, and other activities.

• Move out of the community. Out-migration, typically reflecting the departure of younger residents from rural areas, leaves sizable populations of older residents behind.

The challenges going forward are to provide services for seniors in these communities and some seniors who plan to age in place are not currently in senior friendly homes.  I see it as I deliver meals on wheels.  The elderly woman who can no longer do her own laundry because she can not manage the basement stairs.  Some 0f the homes are too large and cost too much to heat.   

Most younger home buyers do not think about aging and they never asume that the first home they will buy will be the last but it works out that way fairly often.   I have many neighbors who are in their 70's and 80's who have lived in my neighborhood for fifty years and have raised their children here. Heck some of those children purchased homes in the same area and live close by.

If you are a younger senior citizen and by that I mean someone under 70 years old there are volunteer opportunities available for you.  your church or community center needs your help with the programs like Meals on Wheels that serve the oldest people in our communities. 

I remember the bookmobile when I was a kid and I wasn't aware that it was still around until I saw it parked at the West Seventh Community Center where we have one of the nicest libraries around.  We have a wonderful library system in St. Paul and in Minneapolis.  There is a branch library in every neighborhood and the of course the central library downtown. 

The bookmobile goes out into the neighborhoods and visits senior housing complexes and helps seniors and children who can not easily get to the library.  When I was a child reading books was a big part of my summer.  I suppose it was partly because I am the daughter of a teacher and partly because we didn't have electronic games or computers and were not allowed to turn on the TV during the day. 

The bookmobile is impressive.  It is 36 feet long and 12.2 feet high and has over 5,000 items on it.  It follows a two week schedule.  There has been a bookmobile in St. Paul since 1916 but the one they use now is the 2005 model so it is no longer pulled by horses which is kind of a shame but we have to keep up with the times.

If you live in St. Paul you live by a library. I don't think they have kindle books yet but if you want a real book with paper pages check it out.Do kids still read books during summer vacation?  I sure hope so.

I do some volunteer work in the community, and am a meals-on-wheels driver, which puts me in contact with older members of my community and various organizations that serve them.

When I deliver meals I often find that the homes I am delivering to have a front screen door that is locked, and beyond that door is a porch door, also locked.  Beyond the porch door is the interior door to the home, and it usually has multiple locks on it.  They are always locked.  It is very unusual for me to find even an outside screen door unlocked when I deliver the food. 

Seniors seem to be security conscious when it comes to their homes.   In spite of their best efforts I have gotten calls in the last few months from seniors who are about to lose their homes. 

Fewer violent crimes are committed against older Americans than against any other group but they are more susceptible to certain types of crime than any other group and it isn’t the types of crimes that may be committed because a door is left unlocked. 

They are crimes like credit card fraud, mortgage fraud and identity theft. I recently met with a senior who just last year only owed $2000 on her home, and her payments were less than $100 a month.  This year her payments are up over $500 a month and she doesn’t know how much she owes on it. It seems that she refinanced and signed a bunch of papers while she was in the nursing home.

I know of another older American in my community who just could not say no to the charities that called asking for money.  One of those charities was a scam and he is also losing his home, which he did keep locked at all times. 

There is some consumer information about crimes against seniors on the MN department of commerce web site, and I found some information on the FBI’s web site, but I don’t know how many older Americans are getting this information.  I know my 80 something parents are all over the internet, have blogs and even use twitter.  They keep their doors and windows locked too but I also know that there are criminals who prey on seniors and that they are more likely to be the victims of fraud than I  am.

If you have friends, parents or neighbors who are older Americans, read up on crimes against seniors and don’t be afraid to talk with them about it. Educate yourself and teach someone else. It may be  a challenge to get past their spam blockers, caller I.D.’s and locks, but they need to know that there are people out there who can trick them out of their home, no matter how many locks they have.

. . . by the way, we always need more meals on wheels drivers. . .  If you don’t have time to deliver food, I am sure they would accept a donation . . did you know that many meals on wheels drivers are seniors themselves?   OK, I am off my soap box now.

This is one older adults opinion on senior housing, the senior featured in the interview, via pod cast is my father.  I have helped several older friends, relatives and neighbors transition to a new home because of changes in their lives that occurred through the aging process.

These clients are in their 70'S and 80'S, but that is all they have in common. Their housing wants and needs are dictated by their health, income and the kind of life style they want.  There is no one type of housing that works for all seniors just like there isn't a special type of housing for boomer's.

My parents moved because they wanted to live some place where they would not have any yard work,  and not have to drive very much.  My dad was almost blind at the time and the doctors thought that there was a good chance that he would become totally blind.  He later had surgery and can see out of one eye.  I hope he was not too surprised to see his new condo for the first time a month or so after he moved in. 

Senior housing was not an attractive option for my parents because as my dad likes to say they did not want to live with a bunch of old people.  They rejected life in the suburbs because they felt as though they would be isolated and maybe even trapped in their own home.  They toured senior housing co-ops, and communities, before selecting a St. Paul condo, three blocks from my own home.   They have made friends and do volunteer in the community.  They do not need to use their car much and can be seen almost every day taking a walking around the park.

Before finding the condo in Irvine Park we looked at condos and lofts in downtown St. Paul, an appealing option because of the skyway's giving them the option of being out and walking while remaining indoors during the cold winter months.  As we toured the lofts the decor in the models was obviously aimed at 20 and 30 somethings, I don't think too many seniors buy lofts.

In the podcast my dad talks about the various housing options they had and why they like living in the

Click here for the senior housing guide for the twin cities