A Place to Call Home

MEMBER COLUMN

by Nick Massetti

LW contributor

In human terms, the issue of housing for seniors is far more than simply having a roof over their heads. To the elderly it is really about the concept of “home.” The place where one lives is often profoundly connected with who one is and how one expresses this sense of self. Home is where all individuals feel comfortable to be themselves, to drop social facades. Many older people also associate home with autonomy and control. For them it is sometimes the only place where they can feel certain of their surroundings and free from the control and restraints of others. Home is an expression of one’s personality through furnishings, decorations, memorabilia, plants and pets. Ties to the past are maintained through personal possessions, household routines learned and carried out through the years, and through the memories surrounding these very personal expressions of one’s self. For an older person to have a home of his or her own is to have the opportunity to socialize, to give and receive invitations, to have privacy with chosen companions and to be alone when desired. Leisure World is that home for so many.

How sad is it then when the inevitable rise in Leisure World assessments begins to eclipse the ability of the few on low fixed incomes to pay them. Attempts to mitigate increases is largely insufficient for those few. Their only path would seem to be to endure a sale and a move to totally strange surroundings for perhaps only as long as sale proceeds allow. Hopefully, another path will arise for those few if minds and hearts are put to the task.

,