TEANECK — Young people are increasingly moving to cities, leaving the suburbs older and less populated. A grant program hopes to keep older people from following them and make it easier for them to stay in their homes.
Starting in 2015, the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation, of Teaneck, and the Grotta Fund for Senior Care, of Whippany, began giving out grants of up to $35,000 for organizations to study the needs of the elderly in their communities. This year, they’re handing out more money for the groups to act on what they’ve learned.
In Bergen County, where five organizations–in Ridgewood, Englewood, Teaneck, Garfield and Westwood–got grants, the groups learned that older residents are worried about how they’ll be able to afford to stay in their homes and pay property taxes on fixed incomes, how they’ll get around as they lose the ability to drive and how they’ll stay connected to friends and family as they age, said Julia Stoumbos, a program officer for the Taub Foundation. But they also said they’d rather not leave.
“People have indicated by surveys and conversations and outreach that they prefer to stay in the communities where they’re familiar,” she said.
Those communities may have to change to keep their older residents. Some of the groups have already gotten their towns to make changes.
227K residents moved out of NJ in 2015
Jackie Kates, project coordinator for Age-Friendly Teaneck, one of the grant recipients, heard from residents how hard it was to cross Cedar Lane at Garrison Avenue. A 93-year-old woman was killed by a truck while crossing Cedar Lane in June.
Kates spoke to Township Manager William Broughton, who spoke to Bergen County. County officials agreed to add three seconds to the crosswalk light.
Kates said it’s made a difference.
“It’s an example of something that wasn’t difficult to do as long as someone took the initiative,” she said.
While each group is putting together a project eligible for up to $75,000 in grant money, many have already taken smaller steps to make life easier for seniors. In Westwood, the local Age-Friendly group is setting up a kiosk in the library to hand out info for seniors on transportation, housing and emergency options. Age-Friendly Englewood worked with Rebuilding Together North Jersey to help get seniors free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The Taub Foundation, which funds the groups in Bergen, and the Grotta Fund, which is giving out grants elsewhere in North Jersey, also bring in experts to help the groups advocate for seniors and let them know what resources are available. On a recent Thursday, the nine grants receiving grants met in Maywood to meet with a representative from ITN North Jersey, a volunteer-based transportation service for seniors in Bergen County.
They also heard a presentation from Teri Jover of New Jersey Future on how to plan towns to make them more age-friendly. Jover said many of the qualities that make a town a better place for elderly people also make it better for everyone: The ability to walk from place to place, affordable housing close to commercial areas, access to transportation and places to socialize.
Kates said the goal of these efforts was to keep people from moving out of Teaneck as they aged, like her. The 71-year-old said she moved to Fort Lee after spending most of her life in Teaneck because she couldn’t find a smaller place to live. She sees many other Teaneck residents now living in her building.
“Many of us would never have left had there been alternative options in Teaneck,” she said.
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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