A Village For the Elders

Neighbors' Plan Allows For Aging Without Moving

Norman Metzger, left, with Ivan and Lois Kauffman, is vice president of Capitol Hill Village, designed to provide mutual support for aging residents. (By Elizabeth Festa For The Washington Post)

Lois Porter and her husband, George, both in their 80s, researched and visited retirement homes for months -- but then "just couldn't do it," Porter said.

They wanted to remain in their house on Capitol Hill, where they have lived for 33 years. Being able to walk to the doctor's office and stroll daily among people of all ages -- "That's the life, as far as we're concerned," she said.

Ednajane Truax doesn't want to leave the neighborhood, either. Truax, single and in her early 70s, has spent 10 years restoring her Victorian house, chiefly with her own hands, and is "terribly in love" with it.

"When I was single, I didn't want to live in a singles building, and when I am older, I don't want to live with exclusively one age group. I like the stimulation of different opinions, different ideas and people at different stages in their lives," Truax said.

They're among the majority of Americans who would prefer to stay put for retirement, rather than uproot themselves and head for sunnier climates. According to a study by AARP, the senior citizen advocacy group, only about 9 percent of people 60 and older moved out of their county in the five years before the 2000 Census. Ninety percent preferred to stay in the same home or county.

Because they don't want to leave their houses, their wine with dinner, their projects and their pets, a group of longtime Capitol Hill residents began gathering almost a year ago to create a support community that would allow them to stay put as they age.

The resulting nonprofit organization, called Capitol Hill Village, is modeled after a similar successful group in Boston that has become a model for communities around the country. Members don't live together -- rather, they are setting up a system for typical retirement home services, plus upkeep of one's own home. That means they will have access to transportation, doctors and shopping, as well as the means to organize social activities or home health care. An administrator will put members in touch with a prescreened handyman, a kitchen designer or plumber.

The group envisions members getting help with just one phone call for such things as changing smoke detector batteries, widening a door for a wheelchair, or arranging bathing and dressing assistance. Experts from within the group or outside lecturers would help with advice on gardening or estate planning. There would be social activities. Board members hope the system will be running in early summer.

The people who have joined or are planning to do so say they love their houses and want to keep walking their city blocks, socializing with their friends and interacting with neighbors instead of packing off to what one called "a ghetto for old people." Many have seen aged relatives have bad experiences in institutions for the elderly.

"My mother was in four of these type of assisted living arrangements -- 'Garden this' or something or other -- and she hated each one," said Geoff Lewis, president of Capitol Hill Village.

Lewis was intrigued by the Boston community, Beacon Hill Village, which was formed five years ago by residents 50 and over who want to remain in their homes. The group eschews such descriptions as retirement, senior community or aging in place. Beacon Hill Village now has 400 members, with the average age in the early 70s. Lewis began talking to friends, some of whom had read about Beacon Hill Village in an AARP newsletter.

"Geoff and other people we knew agreed to have a meeting. . . . It was like a pickup game. It wasn't thought out. It was Geoff Lewis rounding up the usual suspects to get together," said Mike Canning, 65, a board member.