As people age, their needs change, and that was the focus of a housing forum at the Hebrew Center Tuesday afternoon. Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard presented a marathon of expert speakers, touching on a myriad of topics including technology, home care, housing options, and legislative breakthroughs that give Islanders the tools they need to age safely, successfully, and with dignity.
Technology
Today’s technology makes aging at home safer than it used to be. Maj. Sterling Bishop, the director of community outreach at the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, discussed “Technology for Aging in Place.” He touched on Project Lifesaver, an international program with tracking bracelets to help locate individuals with cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
“Something as simple as one of these bracelets on a wrist or ankle can save someone’s life in less than 30 minutes,” Bishop told a crowd of about 100 Islanders of all ages. “A quick phone call to the Project Lifesaver team, and it’s boots on the ground … We have a fully trained team, and we’ll find that person.”
Project Lifesaver has been a partner of Dukes County Sheriff’s Office for about 15 years, but it’s underutilized, according to Bishop. “I only have four clients on this entire Island,” he said. The bracelets are free, and the only two requirements are a diagnoses such as Alzheimer’s disease, and the presence of a caretaker.
Health monitoring devices, fitness trackers, smart refrigerators, toothbrushes, televisions, locks, etc., were among some of the other recommended technologies highlighted to help individuals age safely in the comfort of their own home.
“If you don’t need it, you might know somebody that does,” Bishop said.
Home care
Megan Panek is the Martha’s Vineyard director of Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands. The South Dennis–based nonprofit provides at-home care at varying levels, based on income. They have a satellite office at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, as well as one on Nantucket. Panek discussed the programs, finances, and eligibility requirements at Elder Services.
Elder Services requires individuals to be at least 60 years old to benefit from their programs. Individuals must also be residents of Massachusetts, and not living in an assisted facility. Copayments depend on incomes, and range from $10 to $152. Individuals qualified for MassHealth insurance do not have a copayment.
Home care services include meal preparation, personal care, medication management, shopping, transportation, etc. According to Panek, 218 elders enrolled in the program in 2018. For more information and a complete list of services, visit escci.org.
Housing options
When staying at home isn’t an option, safe, affordable, age-friendly housing becomes critical.
Island Elderly Housing (IEH) provides affordable rentals for low-income individuals who are elderly or disabled. IEH has 12 different projects, or housing units, Island-wide. There’s Woodside Village (six projects), Aidylberg (two projects), Margaret C. Love House (one project), and Hillside Village (three projects), for a total of 72 apartments. Each unit is about 550 square feet, and can house up to three people. IEH is pet-friendly.
Qualifying individuals fill out a standard application to get on the waitlist. For each project, there are about 100 names on the waitlist — equating to a two- to three-year wait period, according to IEH property manager Lucinda Kirk. All projects are federally funded. Plans are in the works for a locally funded third Aidylberg project. “Town meetings will be very important to go to, to vote on the expansion at Aidylberg,” IEH service coordinator Ann Baird said.
John Abrams, CEO of South Mountain Co., discussed cohousing — a form of housing characterized by 12 to 35 units. Cohousing usually consists of individual units, plus a common house with extra bedrooms, a kitchen, and function rooms. Island Cohousing in West Tisbury has 16 units, and a common house.
“Cohousing really started as family housing, but in recent years, senior cohousing has picked up steam,” Abrams said. “All it takes is half a dozen people banding together who have some resources, and working together to make it happen.” There are 15 strictly senior communities in the country, according to Abrams.
South Mountain is in the preliminary process of renovating a home it bought on 248 Main St., Vineyard Haven. The company plans to turn it into two “relatively high-end” and “beautifully designed” homes for aging individuals who want to move out of their house “at the end of a dirt road” and closer to town. There’s also a barn in the rear that will be renovated into another building, with six rental units. It’ll be designed for individuals to age in place, and for people with incomes of 80 percent of the median or less, according to Abrams.
“We have to remember, whatever housing we do is for the 21st century, and takes into account the ability to be high-performance, resilient, comfortable, and durable, especially with seniors. Housing needs to be really high-quality,” Abrams said.
Renee Lohman is the president and CEO of Navigator Elder Home of New England LLC. She described the traditional nursing home: “I’m sure you can picture them,” she said, “1970’s construction, institutional in nature, two people in a room, a curtain between them, hard linoleum floors.”
Navigator Elder was founded to provide an alternative to this model, adapted from the Green House Project assisted living model. “It’s a model for elders as well as people with disabilities. For men and women with autism. For people with ALS and MS,” Lohman said. “Living in homes that look like Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard–style one-story homes. They’re 7,500 square feet. Everyone gets their own private room. Own private bath. There’s a communal living space. The model has exploded across the country.”
The Green House Project approved Navigator Elder to be the official adaptor of the Green House model in Southeastern Massachusetts. Lohman said they are working with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital to bring green house homes to Martha’s Vineyard. In August, the hospital signed a letter of agreement to complete a business plan and site plan for a six-acre property in West Tisbury. “I think we can create a beautiful community,” Lohman said.
Karen Tewhey, the Dukes County associate commissioner for homeless prevention, talked about homelessness on-Island. “There’s a 0 percent vacancy rate in all rentals,” Tewhey said. “If you lose a rental, there’s nothing to rent out.”
Harbor Homes of Martha’s Vineyard is a new housing education nonprofit that will acquire homes to house adults who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Eligible individuals would have incomes at or below 30 percent of the median, and are considered too poor for affordable housing. The homes will provide congregate housing and life skills education, according to Tewhey. “We’re hoping to acquire our first home this year,” Tewhey said.
Towns and legislation
Adam Turner, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, gave a talk on accessory apartments and zoning. “An accessory unit is a second, sometimes third unit, that goes in an existing single-family residence,” Turner said. “It is subordinate to the residence — it can’t stand by itself — although the Vineyard has adopted those models, too.”
Accessory units can look like an apartment over the garage, a tiny house in the backyard, or a basement apartment in a unit connected to the house.
“Normally these were all attached to a house,” Turner said. “They were accessory, but they didn’t have their own entrance, and usually didn’t even have their own kitchen. But on the Vineyard with the housing shortage, towns have adopted a flexible approach.”
So why use this option?
“In this day and age, it allows elders to stay in place,” Turner said.
People want to stay in their homes as they age. Accessory units can help people downsize, as well as receive rental income. Turner highlighted different forms of the accessory unit:
- Attached bedroom: A room, sometimes several rooms, that don’t have kitchen facilities. It is attached to the house, and you normally have to enter through the house.
- Accessory apartment: Bigger than a bedroom. It’s a unit attached to the house, but it includes kitchen facilities.
- Guesthouse: A fully separate facility.
“All towns permit this in some form,” Turner said. “Taking single-family housing and adapting to the needs of elderly residents — the Island is responding to the need. We just need to do more of it.”
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission recently received a proposal for the Hinckley Hardware property in Vineyard Haven for a 72-residential-unit development. Turner said the development will include some affordable “empty nest” units for people who want to downsize.
Housing Bank campaign manager Makenzie Brookes concluded the afternoon with a talk on where the Housing Bank ties into this. “The Housing Bank proposes a solution for the housing crisis,” Brookes said.
The Housing Bank wants to take 50 percent of the short-term rental tax and use it for a collective bank to combat the housing crisis.
“It’s millions of dollars of new revenue coming to our Island,” Brookes said. “For 100 percent of that to go into the town’s budget without ensuring some is earmarked for community and housing our community seems crazy. With the Housing Bank funded through this mechanism, we will have a dependable source of revenue every year to address housing needs.”
Housing Bank money will help fund empty-nester housing, accessory dwelling units, and affordable year-round units, according to Brookes.