Why Aging in Place is important for me to speak and write about

My name is Carolyn Sithong, I am an occupational therapist, expert consultant and advocate for healthy homes. Not so much in the sense of clean air and energy efficiency, but healthy in that it can work for you, forever. Healthy homes through the eyes of an occupational therapist, support and allow you to remain active, doing everyday tasks that give purpose and meaning to your life. Never allowing you to say, “I used to cook or I used to garden.”

80% of people over the age of 45 indicate that they want to age in place, or remain in their home forever, but less than 10% of the housing stock has “accessible” features. Recently I presented as a panelist for an aging in place educational summit in Lakeland, Florida. As an AARP-FL Home Fit volunteer, I have educated hundreds of people nationally on the importance of healthy homes and how they can do it yourself. In this particular audience I had several contractors and real estate professionals who were familiar with Aging in Place but looking for more opportunities to advance the cause. John Cate, a Senior Real Estate Specialist with Lifelong Casa, LLC spoke with me after the event to discuss a home he purchased in a thriving retirement community south of Tampa. He was looking to remodel the home with Universal Design features and asked if he could use my company, Home for Life to help create the design he was looking for. His intention was to beautifully and purposefully redesign, feature and sell the property to a prospective buyer who is looking to downsize and/or retire knowing that the home and its features will anticipate all of their needs, supporting their desire to age in place.