Rodney Harrell, AARP:Welcome back, everyone.
That was really great.
But now we’re about to hear from another great group of panelists on the topic of housing design.
So before we dive into that conversation, let’s get to our next quiz.
At this point you should see on your screen a Slido question.
Three of these answers are correct.
First, it is entirely free of stairs.
Second, it has a zero-step entrance.
It’s a tough question, but we’re trying to pick the one that’s not right.
So Mike, what are we seeing out there?
About 80 percent of folks are saying that.
Another 10 percent are saying a zero-step entrance.
So again, very clear resounding answer, up to 81 percent on being entirely free of stairs.
Rodney Harrell:You know what, Mike, I try my best to trick, everyone.
It didn’t work.
If you’re all in my class, you would have gotten an A here.
The correct answer is that it is not required to have a home entirely free of stairs.
That’s a different set of accessibility features.
And now, it’s my great pleasure to introduce our next moderator.
Bandana Shrestha, who’s our state director of AARP Oregon, and will moderate our next panel discussion.
Bandana Shrestha:Well, thank you so much, Rodney, it’s so great to be here.
I’ll just get started and get started with our panelists.
It’s nice to see you.
Jennifer Molinsky:Hi.
Bandana Shrestha: She leads the research on housing challenges facing an aging population.
And then Cynthia Shonaiya Cindy is an architect with 30 years of professional experience spanning three continents.
She is senior market sector leader at the design firm Hord Coplan and Macht.
So it’s so great to see you both.
Thank you so much for being here.
Here’s some background.
Yet many homes are not accessible.
As a result, demand for more accessible housing that’s suitable for older adults is expected to increase.
So here’s my question to you.
What pop in of program and policies has your community put in place to address that challenge?
So you should see Slido pop up for you.
What punch in of programs and policies has your community put in place to address this challenge?
Fourth is other, and fifth is none of the above.
So, oh my goodness.
Home repair and maintenance programs looks like is winning now.
Okay, I’d love to bring our panelists back and get their responses.
So it looked like the one that won the day was home modification programs, if I’m correct.
Panelists, what are your reactions to the result of the poll that you just saw?
Are you surprised by what you saw?
So let’s start with you, Cindy, what was your reaction?
Cynthia Shonaiya:I’m actually not surprised.
But it’s not surprising to me that that was more available, just maintenance of existing homes.
Bandana Shrestha:Well, thank you so much.
What about you, Jen.
What was your reaction when you saw the response there, and what won out?
But I guess I would say that the programs that people selected really reflects two separate issues.
I think one, we have an issue in that many people lack homes that match their immediate needs.
Bandana Shrestha:Yeah, I think that’s absolutely right.
So I’d like to start with a question for you, Jen.
But I think we still have a lot of work to do.
For one, I think we need a more expansive notion of accessibility.
It also often means services and supports, like help with homemaking and personal care.
But access to these can be difficult.
Access to housing assistance, and access to supportive services, flow through different channels.
And this includes millions of middle-income older adults who don’t qualify for these programs.
But to do this well, I think we need to double-check that we’re attending to the house.
So in my mind, we don’t give up on those ideas.
Bandana Shrestha:I love that.
Thank you so much for that response.
So next, let me ask Cindy.
Cynthia Shonaiya:Thank you, Bandana.
Bandana Shrestha:Oh no.
Cynthia Shonaiya:… have, we’re seeing more multigenerational and intergenerational communities here.
Bandana Shrestha:Okay.
Oh, go ahead, Cindy.
Cynthia Shonaiya:Okay, I hope you’re able to hear me now.
Bandana Shrestha:I definitely think this time that Cindy has, we’ve lost her connection.
That’s too bad.
Obviously, let’s start out with the aspect of universal design.
But what do you think about that?
Can you respond to that question?
Jennifer Molinsky:Sure.
So both of those branches, I guess, that I was talking about before.
Now I’m just going to go to my last question, which is a rapid fire question here.
Let’s start with you, Cindy.
And I know some of the earlier panels looked at some of these items.
As an architect, there’s certain things that I always design.
And it benefits everybody.
These are little adjustments that can be made to make aging in place easier for everybody.
Bathrooms, showers and not bathtubs.
Towel bars that are grab bars.
Bandana Shrestha:Thank you so much, Cindy.
Jennifer Molinsky:I guess I’d just add to those fantastic suggestions.
We need to address the needs of people who rent as well as owners of single-family homes.
Remember that millions struggle to afford their housing, let alone pay for modifications.
Bandana Shrestha:Well, thank you, both.
We really appreciate that.
Thank you both, and I’m going to turn it back to our emcees.
That was really a fantastic discussion to really ground us in the conversation around housing design.
And now, it’s your chance to ask your questions of our panelists on that very topic.
Remember, if you’d like to ask a question, hey use the Slido Q&A function.
This question is going to be for both of you.
And it involves kinds of policies.
Cindy, let’s start with you and then go to Jen.
Mike Watson:Very well said, Cindy.
Jen, do you have anything you’d like to add to that?
Jennifer Molinsky:Yeah, I would think in terms of new construction.
So I would go to visitability for new construction.
So I really want to commend those communities to underscore the point that you just made, Cindy.
Jen, let’s start with you and then go to Cindy.
We also hear about intentional communities where people of all ages wish to live together.
They may not be related and [they] maintain their own apartments, but have common spaces.
So I think we are seeing all of these things.
Mike Watson:Very well said, that was a great big picture there, Jen.
Cindy, do you want to add anything to that?
Cynthia Shonaiya:Yes, I do.
We have a couple of projects now where seniors are being encouraged to move onto campus.
We’re creating senior living communities, people are taking classes.
Students have this opportunity then to interact with older adults, and thereby create another sort of intergenerational community.
We’re seeing this also even [in] theme parks.
We all know that children love Disney World, but people of all ages do too.
Mike Watson:Very well said, Cindy.
Cindy, let’s start with you and then go to Jen.
Some things require more funds.
Jennifer Molinsky:Yeah, I think Cindy is exactly right, that the resources vary by location.
And I guess just also to go back to something that Cindy said before.
We tend to adapt and start looking past certain things that maybe we might want to address.
Mike Watson:Appreciate that.
So really appreciate that.
As Rodney shared earlier, I think we’re all experiencing this on a day to day basis.
We’ve talked about a bunch of those today.
Jen, let’s start with you and then go to Cindy.
And this is going to be our last question.
That comes with a consult with an occupational therapist who helps you adapt to your home as needed.
Other programs are similarly small in scope, but are just about the modification and safety.
I think that we need to investigate and build on those more.
So we need to pay attention to those fixes.
Mike Watson:Thanks, Jen, that was really good guidance.
Cindy, what would you like to add to that?
Cynthia Shonaiya:Yeah, part of our practice deals with modifying affordable homes.
A lot of these programs are funded by low-income housing tax credits with a local or state jurisdiction.
So sustainability, energy efficiency, all of those types of upgrades are important.
Mike Watson:Thank you, Cindy, and thank you so much, Jen.
That was really wonderful.
So thank you so much.
Jennifer Molinsky:Thank you.
Cynthia Shonaiya:You’re welcome.
Mike Watson:Now we just heard a great conversation about housing design and what communities can do.
The first, in Rogue Valley, Oregon, and also in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The presentation transcript was created by an automated transcription tool.
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