Our Blog

Reflection on the NJAAW Housing Series

A guest blog by William Cotrone, NJAAW intern As the global population continues to grow/age, appropriate housing for older adults is now more important than ever. Most of NJ’s current housing stock was built for young able-bodied adults and nuclear families. Currently, 30% of homeowners in the US are single and live alone. By 2030, […]

Home is where the heart is

“There isn’t one large leap from living independently in one’s home to needing assisted living – there are numerous steps and choices.”

I’m proud of you, New Jersey!

As we wind up 2021, I just want to take a moment to say I’m proud of you, New Jersey! Now, with all the jokes made about the great Garden State, you might not be used to the compliment, but here is why I am proud of our older residents, in particular. New Jersey was […]

Avoiding COVID-19 Vaccination Scams

Guest blog by Charles Clarkson, Esq., Project Director, Senior Medicare Patrol of New Jersey On March 13, 2020, a national health emergency was declared due to the coronavirus pandemic. After many years of running the Senior Medicare Patrol of New Jersey (SMP), I knew it was only a matter of time before we starting seeing […]

Grandparents Stepping Up to Assist Grandchildren with Virtual Education

  As a young child growing up in New Jersey, I recall spending countless summers in the sandy woods of Wall Township with my maternal grandmother, Carolyn Holland. On her screened-in porch, we spent hours playing such card games as Pitty Pat, War and Casino. This card shark, with less than an eighth-grade education, showed […]

Caregiving by the Numbers

See resources at the end of this blog, including information for caregiving during COVID-19.  A Caregiving Report by AARP’s Susan Reinhard and Lynn Friss Feinberg revealed that in 2017, about 41 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided an estimated 34 billion hours of care to an adult with limitations in daily activities. Support included […]

Testimony given by NJFA Executive Director Melissa Chalker to the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee, 1/27/2020

  The New Jersey Foundation for Aging’s Executive Director, Melissa Chalker, was invited to testify at the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Senior Services Committee on January 27, 2020. The committee includes Chair Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Vice-Chair Shanique Speight and members BettyLou DeCroce, DiAnne C. Gove, Angela V. McKnight and P. Christopher Tully. This was […]

Aging and happiness

(With apologies to beloved game show host Alex Trebek.) Happy New Year! Let’s start 2020 with a “Jeopardy”-esque answer, and you provide the question. Answer: “According to multiple research studies, our happiest days occur at this age in life.” Cue the theme music… OK, time’s up. The correct question? “What is old age?” Surprised? You’re […]

The Importance of Programs

By Mason Crane-Bolton   The Importance of Programs There are many programs available for eligible older adults, but not everyone is signed up for them. Some people aren’t aware of the types and specific programs available and others may know the programs, but don’t believe they’ll qualify for assistance. In today’s blog post we’ll take […]

Getting Ready for Summer

By Mason Crane-Bolton We’re now in the middle of summer and it’s time to make sure you’re prepared for hot, long days and more time! But, you may be thinking, what do I need to do to prepare? What do I even need to prepare for? Although summer may be the season of sun and […]