To the Editor:
The mission of Staying Put in New Canaan is to help older adults successfully age in place in New Canaan and to be a resource for the broader community on healthy aging. It was in fact older adults who pushed for the creation of Staying Put and became the first volunteers and donors. However, after over a decade in business, we have seen the needs of some of our members change and many would like an alternative to living in their own homes yet not leave their hometown.
Older adults serve our community as elected officials and volunteer as officers and directors of non-profits as well as volunteering their time. In addition to providing invaluable financial support, older adults are a wealth of institutional knowledge and take back little from the town in direct services.
Three decades ago, the New Canaan Elder Care Council identified the need for independent living housing for older adults. And a follow-up study in 2009 concluded that, “in order to accommodate the increasingly large sector of aging adults, the town must move forward in establishing a seamless continuum of care which will allow older adults to thrive within their own community without needing to seek external residential alternatives.”
New Canaan’s older adults have helped build our community into what it is today and it is important to listen carefully and to give consideration to the needs of older adults now.
Staying Put in New Canaan Board of Directors
- Betsy Afragola
- Judy Bentley
- Carol Blauvelt
- Dr. Sherman Bull
- Lyn Chivvis
- Kelly DeFrancesco
- Amy Freyre
- Chris Hussey
- Phil Ives
- Judy Johnson
- Janet Lanaway
- Steve Orteig
- Joel Pelzner
- Lois Sandberg
- Donna Simone
- Chris Snyder