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Some related articles : The Canterbury Tales, Set in Florida Florida Files Suit Accusing Sweepstakes Company of Preying on Elderly |
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Florida Redoubles Effort to Accommodate Aged
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Evelyn Kusk used to fret about crossing a busy intersection here on her way to the bank and the grocery store. She is 85 and not as speedy as she used to be. "Every time, I'd run even to make it halfway," said Mrs. Kusk, a retired seamstress from Brooklyn. "I'm getting old, so I don't run that fast." But Mrs. Kusk has been able to relax a bit lately. In recent months, the city has begun adjusting its traffic lights to give pedestrians 15 seconds more to cross the street. It has also been putting in wider sidewalks, shelters for bus stops and stop signs with bigger, easier-to-read letters. That is not all. Elderly residents like Mrs. Kusk, who walks and cycles around town and insists on being independent, can now find emergency call boxes on sidewalks and a ready supply of church volunteers to escort them on errands and visits to the doctor. In addition, Mayor Tom Anderson says, a $1.7 million center for the elderly, largely state-financed, will offer computer and fitness classes, a dinner theater and line dancing. The city has also begun providing many low-income elderly residents property-tax breaks beyond those allowed by the state. What has gotten into Dunedin (pronounced duh-NEE-din), a town of 35,000 on the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles west of Tampa? The answer is that it is in the middle of a half-million-dollar effort to make life safer, easier and more appealing to people 65 and older. The reasons have to do partly with some hard generational truths, partly with enlightened self-interest. Dunedin is one of more than 40 Florida communities working to be certified as "elder ready" under a program introduced in 2000 by Gov. Jeb Bush and the state's Department of Elder Affairs. The program, Communities for a Lifetime, is the country's most comprehensive effort to encourage independent living by older people, whom Dunedin and the rest of Florida have in abundance. Communities that meet the program's guidelines will get state help in marketing themselves to retirees, who will then, the thinking goes, buy homes there, pay taxes there and stimulate the local economy. "Once you explain the concept to people — that the whole purpose is to allow elders to remain in their homes with dignity, security and purpose in an elder-friendly environment — then it makes sense for a community to begin to prepare," said Peg Cummings, Dunedin's coordinator. Cities in Florida and elsewhere have for years been making adjustments for the elderly, like adding handrails to showers in hotels and, since adoption of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, ramps to buildings. But under Florida's program, communities are making comprehensive changes. "In the 50's, people said, `We need to set up an infrastructure to handle all these children,' " said Bentley Lipscomb, director of the Florida AARP. "Well, now it's the reverse." Florida often confronts issues concerning the aging long before the rest of the country, and for good reason. By at least one measure, it is the nation's oldest state: in the 2000 census, its 2.8 million residents 65 or older accounted for 17.6 percent of its population, compared with 12.4 percent for the nation as a whole. In Dunedin, 40 percent of the residents are at least 65. Census projections put Florida's figure at 26.3 percent by 2025, with the national figure 18 percent. "Florida is looked at as the incubator as to what the rest of the country will look like in 20 years," said Terry F. White, secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs. "Because of this, we need to be better prepared than the rest of the nation." To gain "elder ready" status, a city must demonstrate that it has made changes to help the aged in categories including transportation, medical services and law enforcement. A city that wins approval will be permitted to post signs proclaiming itself elder-friendly and receive promotional support from the state. Under guidelines issued by the Department of Elder Affairs, the participating cities themselves assess everything from ambulance response times to whether the police department trains officers to spot schemes that bilk the elderly. The state also encourages communities to look for ways to make everyday life easier for older people, like asking banks to install A.T.M.'s with large buttons and encouraging grocery stores to include checkout lanes exclusively for the elderly. "This is the most comprehensive program I've heard of," said Charles Jarvis, chairman of the United Seniors Association, an advocacy group. "When Florida moves in a particular direction, other states follow." Cities seeking certification are permitted to pick and choose among the state guidelines. "This isn't a `one size fits all' state," said Cathy Brown, executive director of the Council on Aging of St. Johns County, which includes St. Augustine, one of the participating cities. "The whole point is to have each community say, `This is what we need in our community.' " So communities begin by evaluating what changes would most improve the lives of elderly people locally. St. Augustine has refurbished its senior citizens' center and added new services there. The city also plans to build low-income housing for older residents, and strengthen in-home services for them, she said. Other cities, however, are still deciding whether to join the initiative. But in the cities where changes are already under way, people like Donald Blades voice appreciation. "This isn't just elder-friendly," said Mr. Blades, 83, of Dunedin. "It's just plain friendly." 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