He received help from the Central Arizona Shelter Services and got a job working in maintenance until he decided to retire and start collecting Social Security benefits. However, after his apartment suddenly raised his rent by $250 a month, he had to look for housing elsewhere.<\/p>\n
There was no one nearby to help him, and his only source of income came from food stamps.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister lives in Hawaii, so as big a help as she was financially and supportive, there was just nobody here,\u201d Iffland said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the Salvation Army found him, providing him with housing and other resources. It\u2019s one of the few things that was there for him when he had a severe heart attack, requiring four stents placed in his heart.<\/p>\n
Iffland\u2019s story is one of many across the spectrum of solo aging experiences. It\u2019s often a clashing of systems that leave older people behind, making them financially vulnerable as they navigate changes in health.<\/p>\n
Iffland does enjoy his alone time, and he\u2019s especially fond of music and his guitar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the biggest Beatles fan you\u2019ll ever find. I have a giant collection of Beatles records and memorabilia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For some, it\u2019s a meaningful opportunity to create a life of complete freedom, experiencing it as it happens firsthand, with self at the center.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the experience of Arizona State University researcher David Coon, who has studied aging extensively and is both a solo ager himself along with the caregiver of his neighbor, who is also aging alone.<\/p>\n
Coon emphasized the importance of prioritizing what he calls \u201caging successfully.\u201d This does come with a weight of personal responsibility, he said, yet it is traversable and manageable with the right mindset.<\/p>\n
One thing Coon focuses on is creating a network.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important to consider a \u2018buddy system\u2019 for solo agers. Is there someone that is your closest person, where you would check in either once a day or once every couple of days to make sure everything\u2019s OK?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tami Bohannon started caregiving at 17 when her father received a terminal diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that I\u2019ve done has led up to me being here in this space that\u2019s so important right now. The silver tsunami is a real thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Today, Bohannon is the president and CEO of senior resource organization AllThrive 365. She shared a story of the time she met the self-proclaimed \u201cGolden Girls of Pineview Manor,\u201d a housing community for people 62 and older located in Pinetop, Arizona.<\/p>\n
They created the \u201cBlind Brigade.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you woke up, you opened your blinds, and if your blinds weren\u2019t open by 10 a.m., they had permission to knock on your door or call,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Creating community<\/p>\n
A cornerstone of aging alone is finding friendship and a circle of trusted people.<\/p>\n
Karen Cisek is one of Iffland\u2019s neighbors, and her solo aging experience has been a mostly fulfilling and positive journey. She\u2019s lived in Arizona for 57 out of her 67 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made a lot of new friends here. I feel like I have a family here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In her alone time, she tends to her plants, reads and she\u2019s just \u201cstuck on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cisek worked in the restaurant industry as a server and a bartender, so she said she feels comfortable talking with anyone and everyone. She said she has 60 friends at the Salvation Army.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an intentional community,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Cisek\u2019s circle is something Coon refers to as an \u201cinformal network\u201d \u2014 a system of people that provide consistent emotional support and social enrichment. It\u2019s created with purpose.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, there is the concept of a \u201cformal network\u201d \u2014 the people trusted with handling finances, important legal paperwork and future plans, including those after a person has died.<\/p>\n
Coon encourages people to think of this as a \u201csocial safety net,\u201d taking into account the constantly changing terrain that so often accompanies growing old \u2014 people die, move away or grow apart.<\/p>\n
Bohannon\u2019s organization runs adult day centers, which she found can combat isolation and be a way for older people to build a social network without completely upending their lives or relinquishing independence.<\/p>\n
These centers offer a place outside the home for older people to be around others and to receive care as necessary, providing in-home caregivers with a reprieve. Those can be people who are taking care of their spouse or parent or hired help.<\/p>\n
Without insurance, eight hours at an AllThrive 365 center costs $128. The organization does not directly accept Medicare, but some seniors use Medicaid\u2019s Arizona Long Term Care System plan. Commonly known as ALTCS, the program covers long-term care in nursing homes and adult day centers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is absolutely more affordable to live in your own home and come to adult day than move into assisted living facilities,\u201d Bohannon said.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re great models, she said, but they\u2019re expensive to manage, and it can be difficult to find staff who are well-equipped to take on the job.<\/p>\n
In Maricopa County, the number of adult day centers across organizations was halved after the COVID-19 pandemic forced drastic funding cuts.<\/p>\n
It can be hard for the organization to keep up financially, she said, as they have to raise around $2 million in private philanthropy to keep these centers going.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a systemic change that needs to happen around aging,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
We want to hear from you.<\/p>\n
Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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