As adults age, one major concern is housing instability and homelessness. As part of an ongoing effort to address housing insecurity, The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge and a number of community partners worked together to launch a Lunch & Learn series.
On Thursday, the fourth installment will address accessible housing and housing for older adults.
Beth Bland from the Valley Program for Aging Services and Scott and Sarah Pruett from the Universal Design Project will speak on the topic.
Participation in the series is free of charge.
“It’s important to keep learning and talking about various and different concerns along the wide spectrum that is housing,” said Lydia Campbell, community-based services manager at Valley Community Service Board. “Aging in place is particularly important to address, because the number of seniors experiencing homelessness and severe housing instability is growing across our community and our nation. We cannot treat our elders this way.”
A two-day housing summit was held in the fall of 2023. The series was launches as a way to continue and expand the discussions started there.
“When we committed our time and resources to addressing housing insecurity, we quickly discovered that housing is the proverbial onion with seemingly endless layers of interconnected issues,” said Dan Layman, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge. “We planned for a series of community gatherings over coffee and lunch to take a deeper dive into as many related issues as possible.”
Previous discussions centered around renter’s rights, housing first and housing stock and the housing crisis.
“This series of gatherings also serves to maintain community interest in momentum,” Layman said, “while we are working with our partners on the next big steps.”
The “Aging in Place” Lunch & Learn will take place at the Staunton Innovation Hub at noon on Thursday. The Hub is located at 11 N. Central Ave. in Staunton.
For more information, visit https://sawhousing.com
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Crystal Graham
