I love seeing things designed with input from the people that need them most.
Dignified adapted mugs that keep people from turning to sippy cups? Nice.
Sewing patterns for specialized clothing needs? Heck yeah.
And housing made with senior needs pushed to the forefront of the blueprints? Let me get some fireworks.
Not to diminish the importance of things like pre-chopped veggies and ‘Learn some manners’ wheelchair spikes as far as upholding right to a life well lived for all, but a place to lay your head safely is literally a bigger ask as far as how things get drafted and built.
Think about it in terms of your own home now. Can corners easily accommodate wheelchairs? Gurneys? Does the shower have a valley or a large lip? Stairs…everything about the stairs.
It really makes you think doesn’t it? Great UI isn’t just for websites—the right designs for the right users genuinely needs to be in every aspect of our lives, especially for the more vulnerable among us.
A Ms. Evelyn of Wasilla, AK, needed neither permission, nor a published last name to get to work on crafting the residences she and other independent elders needed to live their lives fully and securely. Drawing on her work as executive and housing director of Wasilla Area Seniors Inc, her decades long plans, grant work, and additional certifications in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection gave her residents an up-to-code adapted place to live.
And now she lives there too.
“Back when I first started working there, this area had hardly any senior housing. We put a 20- to 30-year plan together to build and grow because we knew the senior community would continue to grow.”
Grow it will, and there’s no turning back or ‘trends’ to surf regarding senior housing. Keep in mind, if nothing kills you first, you’ll be old too. And so will everyone buying and selling under your watch. Support what good practices you can now, and they’ll support you back.
Yes, literally as well.
You can't spell "Together" without TGOT: That Goth Over There. Staff Writer, April Bingham, is that goth; and she's all about building bridges— both metaphorically between artistry and entrepreneurship, and literally with tools she probably shouldn't be allowed to learn how to use.
