Home Fit Event at Herndon Senior Center
New Virginia legislation and AARP solutions can help families with infirm elderly family members and/or disabled children according to Realtor Melissa Landau
Just blocks from the Landau Law Shop is the Herndon Senior Center. Located at Grace Street near Fortnightly Blvd., the large Center has helpful programming for Fairfax County and Loudoun County residents. Following up on yesterday’s post on the accessible home tax credit, the Senior Center will present a “Home Fit” event on April 18, 2013. The Great Falls Senior Center will also hold a “Home Fit” event at St. Catherine of Siena Church on May 7, 2013. For details, visit the AARP Virginia website.
Home Fit materials and events focus on features such as wider doorways, grab bars in bathrooms, no-slip rugs and stepless entryways. Having recently worked with homeowners to make an existing home safe for elderly parents and disabled family members, Melissa Landau, a realtor with Keller Williams Town and Country Group, saw first-hand how one-level living can help protect elderly occupants from additional injuries from falls, scalding and drowning. “With 3 and even 4 generations living in the same household, attention must be paid to making the home safe for young, old and the infirm. Just as young parents “baby-proof” homes to prevent unnecessary danger, with older family members and disabled relations, there are steps that can be taken for everyone’s safety and comfort.”
The goal of Home Fit is to make homes safer and more convenient while preventing falls and injuries. To encourage home builders to construct homes meeting universal-design accessibility standards, AARP joined several organizations to form Virginia Accessible Housing Solutions Inc., a public-private nonprofit corporation whose EasyLiving Home certification provides one way to qualify for the tax credit described in yesterday’s post For more on EasyLiving Homes, click here