Long Islanders getting older, staying put
Photo credit: Photo by Danielle Finkelstein for Newsday | Bea Kandell plays cards at the Roslyn Country Club. She is among the older Long Islanders who are chosing to remain here.
Sy Buckner, 83, of Roslyn Heights, is
On a recent evening in Old Westbury, they played bridge, munched cookies and chatted about using computers to keep in touch with their children.
The informal social at the Wheatley School was organized by seniors for seniors and was funded privately by its participants. Most of the two dozen who attended were members of DontMoveAway, a nonprofit group formed last year by Roslyn Heights residents whose goal is to give older residents resources to age in their homes.
"I certainly think about what I'm going to do in 10 years," said Susan Willard, 76, who co-founded DontMoveAway with Janet Entine, 69. "I don't want to go to an assisted-living facility if I don't have to."
DontMoveAway is modeled after Beacon Hill Village in Boston, a program founded in 2001 that has become something of a gold standard. Beacon Hill Village now has about 470 members.
Dues of $600 a year buy services including grocery shopping. "All of our members call us for services," said Rita Kostiuk, village-to-village coordinator.
Beacon Hill Village founders wrote a manual to help others start similar programs. About 10 manuals were shipped to Island residents, Kostiuk said, including Willard and Entine.
Long Island has "naturally occurring retirement communities," or NORC programs, in North Hempstead, Huntington and the Plainview-Old Bethpage area. The programs help seniors access resources, such as fitness classes and flu shots, that can assist their desire to stay out of nursing homes longer.
Public and private funding
The difference between the two programs is that NORCs receive government funding, while DontMoveAway makes do with member contributions and grants, giving the group the freedom to determine its priorities and act on them.
"Our desire is that the organization reflect the needs of its members," Entine said. "We were quite in virgin territory" when the group was started.
Indeed, while such groups have formed locally and nationally in recent years, many operate under the radar. Aside from DontMoveAway, which has about 150 members ages 50 and older in areas including Manhasset Hills, Williston Park and New Hyde Park, it's tough to tell how many similar groups exist on Long Island.
Entine and Willard said that while their services are currently focused in the North Hempstead area, the program is open to all Nassau residents.
DontMoveAway started before North Hempstead's NORC went townwide earlier this year. Though the programs have comparable purposes, the town has established medical and social work services, while DontMoveAway, for now, emphasizes cultural activities and socialization, Entine said.
The need for programs for seniors, who must wend their way through a complex web of services, is great, experts say. Census data from 2007 shows that more than 377,000 people age 65 and older call Long Island home. There are more than 768,000 boomers ages 45 to 64.
For many, nursing home care is a financial impossibility. And seniors who were interviewed said they have no desire to leave their homes.
Lois Rubenstein, 65, of Roslyn Heights, said she and her husband, Stuart, 80, enjoy eating in their backyard and socializing with friends. "Why would I give this up?" she asked.
The Rubensteins are in charge of DontMoveAway's provider list. A perk that comes with annual member dues ($35 per individual, $50 a couple), the list includes contact information for appliance repair shops, hearing aid vendors and other service providers. The vendors come recommended by members and some offer discounts.
The group also is launching a neighbor-to-neighbor program, in which volunteers will check on older neighbors. "If something happens, we should at least know which children to call," said coordinator Rita Stein of Roslyn Heights.
A walking group has been established in Roslyn Heights, and DontMoveAway has held events featuring speakers from North Shore / Long Island Jewish Health System and experts in elder law. Plans include computer classes and a book discussion group. The activities are gaining momentum, but "It's very slow going," Entine said.
Aiming to be 'elder-friendly'
Officials at the nonprofit Bellport Hagerman East Patchogue Alliance hope to launch an age-in-place program, also modeled on Beacon Hill Village, this year, executive director Geoffrey Stone said. "We're trying to make an elder-friendly community."
The program, which will encompass the South Country school district, could include adult day services and social activities, Stone said. The group plans to take a survey of residents' needs this fall.
Established age-in-place programs are more likely to garner NORC funding than those that haven't yet launched, said Cynthia Marshall of the New York State Office for the Aging.
"It's still a competitive process," she said, but some groups that began without public funds are now publicly funded. One local NORC followed that trajectory.
Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares, based at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center in Plainview, was founded with private money in 2001, said Elissa Friedman, director of adult services. But health and social work services proved too costly. "The reality of being able to keep being independent is very hard," she said.
The group then garnered state funds, becoming a NORC in 2006. It "moved from an idea and some volunteers," Friedman said, "to a program that has five-day-a-week nursing and a social work staff."
While it can be difficult obtaining funds, those who take advantage of the services say community age-in-place groups offer many benefits.
Participants are less likely to be depressed, said Dale Chaikin of North Shore/ Long Island Jewish Health System, which has offered a geriatric social worker as a resource for DontMoveAway.
Rita Stein, a DontMoveAway member and a lawyer with experience in elder law, said the program could shield older residents from abuse. "The more you have support and the less isolated you are, the better you are [able] to protect yourself," she said.
And members can take advantage of community purchasing, which can lower rates for services, said Sharon Mullon, commissioner of Nassau Department of Senior Citizen Affairs. "It's almost like a miniature co-op," she said.
For Sy Buckner, 83, of DontMoveAway's board of directors, the group is a way to reconnect. He was among several veterans who moved to Roslyn Heights after World War II. "We had a great community because we were all about the same age," he said.
As residents grew older, there were fewer chances for gatherings. But DontMoveAway changed that, Buckner said. "It's doing what we did before, but it's age appropriate," he said. "Once again, we've got a harmonious group."
For more information about DontMoveAway, call 516-621-0987 or 516-621-4465.
