A rapidly expanding number of seniors in Arlington may place strain on local services and require a shift in how leaders approach community needs, panelists said at a recent forum.
Advance Arlington on Oct. 14 addressed what it calls a “silver tsunami” — the rising numbers of those in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond who continue to live in Arlington during their retirement years.
The event drew a large in-person crowd to Lubber Run Community Center plus more than 200 online, and the discussion aimed to be pragmatic rather than academic, Advance Arlington chair Tony Weaver said.
“It’s the single biggest demographic shift reshaping our community,” he said of the aging population. “The question isn’t whether it’s happening, but whether our housing, transit, healthcare networks and county budget are ready for it.”
One growing challenge is the number of seniors who run out of resources and find themselves with no safety net beneath them.
Kathleen Cameron, vice chair of the Arlington Commission on Aging, pointed to a spike in the number of homeless seniors. This is a relatively new phenomenon, she said.
“Many of the older adults who are homeless haven’t been homeless their whole lives,” Cameron said. “It’s a situation that happened in their 50s, 60s or 70s that caused them to lose their home for one reason or another.”
Divina Alston, executive director of the Mary Marshall Assisted Living Residence in Penrose, said seniors need to stand up for themselves as part of the broader community discussion.
“It’s important to have the people that we are talking about to be present, because they know what their needs are,” she said. “They need to be there advocating for themselves.”
Self-advocacy starts with awareness of the tools used to determine policies related to seniors.
“Advocacy is hard,” said Wendy Zenker, executive director of Arlington Neighborhood Village. “There are opportunities to have your voice be heard, and we don’t know about those opportunities.”
She pointed to an ongoing statewide tour conducted by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services on the needs of older adults, designed to assess the current situation and craft statewide policies.
“I’m sure most people in this room have no idea that that’s happening,” Zenker said, adding it was vital that “we get the word out that there are those opportunities, and not only get the word out, but then have people show up and stand in front of a microphone like this and let their voices be heard.”
Living in Arlington and Northern Virginia in retirement is a choice that sometimes comes with trade-offs, said Dave Schutz, a local civic activist on housing and other issues.
“We’re a high-cost area,” Schutz said at the forum. ” We’re always going to be a high-cost area. And there are people who want to be here because they’re near their children, or want to be here because they have a lifetime here and all of their associations are here.”
“People who have lived their lives here and made friends, family and community should be able to figure out a way to stay here — this is their home,” he continued.
Concerns were raised at the forum that the discussion about aging in Arlington often focuses on those with adequate financial capabilities, leaving out those without home equity or other resources to last them through what could be decades as a retiree.
Zenker said that many resources are available, although people need to know where to look for them.
“There’s so much information out there,” she said. “There are programs going on all the time to help you think of all the things you have to plan for.”
Advance Arlington’s mission is to spur discussion that could later translate into action, said Weaver, who recently succeeded Devanshi Patel as its chair.
The issue of seniors is potentially more pressing than others because the need is immediate, he said.
“The silver tsunami isn’t a theoretical issue — it’s already making landfall,” Weaver said.
Photo via Richard Sagredo/Unsplash
