LIFE ElderCare 2017 Annual Report

The work we do is necessary
“Aging in place works best as part of a comprehensive and holistic
approach to the support needs of an aging individual and an aging
community.”
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
An AARP study found that approximately 90% of seniors intend to
continue living in their current homes for the next 10 years. Doing
this, however, comes with a unique set of challenges for low- to
moderate-income seniors, the study showed:
• 72% of low- to moderate-income seniors have at least 1 chronic
health condition
• Nearly half of these seniors are not confident that their incomes
will be sufficient to meet their monthly expenses over the next
5-10 years.
This means that community based organizations like LIFE are truly
critical right now. We continue to explore ways to scale to serve the
rapidly growing number of older adults in need. And we do so with the
combined approach of highest efficiency and closest connection
between people on a feet-on-the-ground basis. These are two
concepts rarely sought together but the experiences of LIFE have
shown us the possibilities are real and long lasting.
“Social innovators must address the issues facing this
population for reasons beyond demographic coverage. The
state of the elderly will actually determine the fate of our
entire social innovation field.”
Chang, Curtis. “Elderly Care and the Future of Social Innovation (SSIR).” Stanford Social
Innovation Review, 27 Aug. 2012,
ssir.org/articles/entry/elderly_care_and_the_future_of_social_innovation.