I remember growing up and watching my aging grandmother sit by her living room window, looking out, waiting for nothing in particular to happen – just watching her life pass her by. That sad, helpless memory always stayed with me, but I was never able to take that sadness and transform it something productive, something […]
Category: Aging
Seeing Less/Enjoying More: Living with Permanent Vision Loss
by guest blogger Annemarie Cooke You – or someone you care about – are older, and having trouble reading print. The simple act of scanning a printed page visually is now laborious and slow-going. It’s time to get that checked out with the eye doctor. After running some tests, the doctor’s declaration is all-too-familiar and […]
Elder Index at Work: Defending Property Tax-Relief Programs for Older Homeowners in New Jersey
This blog post was written by Steven Syre of the Gerontology Institute at University of Massachusetts Boston, and is reprinted with their permission. This article is one in a series of stories about how people across the country are using the Elder Index to understand the true cost of living for older adults and its […]
“2020 Vision for Successful Aging”
NJ Foundation for Aging is honored that the North Jersey Alliance of Age-Friendly Communities, a partner organization, wrote about their impressions of our 22nd annual conference and shared them with us as a guest blog. Mornings on the golf course. Weekends with the grandkids. Vacations to dreamed-of destinations. These are the visions of “successful aging” […]
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2020
NATIONAL CENTER ON ELDER ABUSE Red Flags of Abuse Our communities are like structures that support people’s safety and wellbeing. One of the most important ways we can all contribute to this ongoing construction project is by looking out for warning signs of maltreatment. Does someone you know display any of these signs of abuse? […]
Grandparents Stepping Up to Assist Grandchildren with Virtual Education
As a young child growing up in New Jersey, I recall spending countless summers in the sandy woods of Wall Township with my maternal grandmother, Carolyn Holland. On her screened-in porch, we spent hours playing such card games as Pitty Pat, War and Casino. This card shark, with less than an eighth-grade education, showed […]
The COVID-19 Crisis at NJ’s Long-Term Care Facilities
We’d like to thank guest blogger and NJFA friend Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, NJ’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman, for her blog post. By Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, NJ’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman The COVID-19 crisis in long-term care facilities is an unprecedented national tragedy. Around the country, tens of thousands of vulnerable residents of nursing homes and assisted living […]
Caregiving by the Numbers
See resources at the end of this blog, including information for caregiving during COVID-19. A Caregiving Report by AARP’s Susan Reinhard and Lynn Friss Feinberg revealed that in 2017, about 41 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided an estimated 34 billion hours of care to an adult with limitations in daily activities. Support included […]
Testimony given by NJFA Executive Director Melissa Chalker to the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee, 1/27/2020
The New Jersey Foundation for Aging’s Executive Director, Melissa Chalker, was invited to testify at the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee on January 27, 2020. The committee includes Chair Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Vice-Chair Shanique Speight and members BettyLou DeCroce, DiAnne C. Gove, Angela V. McKnight and P. Christopher Tully. This was […]
Aging and happiness
(With apologies to beloved game show host Alex Trebek.) Happy New Year! Let’s start 2020 with a “Jeopardy”-esque answer, and you provide the question. Answer: “According to multiple research studies, our happiest days occur at this age in life.” Cue the theme music… OK, time’s up. The correct question? “What is old age?” Surprised? You’re […]