Let's talk About it
Is home a structure in which we live? Is it a neighborhood, rural setting, or place shared with others? Or is it something bigger that begins with relationships, trust, and interdependence? Your future home will undoubtedly look and feel different, based on your priorities and evolving values. Have you had a conversation on what home may look like as you age?
Begin the conversation - Watch this brief video to get started.
Calling Home Real Stories
Six Minnesota families were interviewed about what home means to them
as they grow older. These persons have diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and geographic locations. While each has a different point of view, all
describe an environment that is nurturing and healing. Let’s see
what they have to say about Home.
Velma Harris & Moriah Ratliff
While grandmother currently lives by herself, she would like to live with her daughter and young granddaughter. She would like to be a resource – and wants this to work for everyone. Truthful conversations are needed in order to choose what is best for their family. What would home feel like with three generations living together?
Richard Nethercut, Loni Kemp & Sara Peterson
This family treasures privacy and quiet in a place where creativity flourishes. They wish to remain in a setting with lots of green space and nature. A cooperative living space with trees and quiet may be an ideal option that reflects these values. Early conversations – while they are still healthy - are the best place to begin.
Butkiewicz Family
The Butkiewicz family started their farm in 1904. For five generations, farming has meant home and a way of life. They’ve never lived anywhere else. Three generations now live and farm together – with evolving health issues and values. How these generations live and work together will soon change. What might their family future look like?
The Xiong Family
The Xiong’s have a strong intergenerational family. Family relationships define what home means to them. Sharing family traditions and daily life are important. The new generation of elders would like to help care for their grandchildren. This would be a huge benefit for their adult children with busy working lives.
Seth Boffeli, Communications Director, AARP Minnesota
Seth’s father is 73 years old and lives on the 50-acre ranch where he raised his family. For them, living in an environment that is close-to-nature for walks in the woods is very important as one ages. They’ve found that home is much more than having a house – being close to nature in a rural-like setting provides quality of life.
Patti Cullen, President/CEO, Care Providers of Minnesota
Patti’s mother is an independent woman having lived as a widow for 40 years. She and Patti believe the best conversations about healthy aging occur in stages in a relaxed setting before there’s a crisis. Patti has also learned that socializing with others and cooking - “things to do, not places to be” is what home means most.
Real Stories on Staying Healthy
Five Minnesota families were interviewed about staying healthy and what health means to them as they age. While they represent diverse backgrounds, communities, lifestyles, and geographic locations, there is commonality
on how they view emotional and mental health, nutritional health,
oral health, physical health, and spiritual health. Let’s see what they
have to say about staying healthy.
African Immigrant Community Services
Kadar finds that some of the biggest obstacles to taking care of your own needs are economic. It is easy to forget about yourself when taking care of rent, food, and family issues, and oral care is surprisingly expensive. But oral
health is important for humans so it is important to focus on brushing regularly.
Perham Area Community Center
Sisters Jan and Marcia recently decided to connect to the Perham Area Community Center (PACC). They believe that wellbeing means being able to do what you want to do and enjoy it and having the resources available so you can be your best.
YMCA Heritage Park
Jo and Stan first came to the YMCA after a hip replacement but they have been coming ever since. A lot of seniors wouldn’t come outside of their homes if they didn’t have this space. Happiness goes hand in hand with wellness, and while Stan didn’t think he was going to make it to 75, now he is hoping for 25 more.
Apple Tree Dental
Apple Tree Dental is a nonprofit dental practice serving 6 regions in MN that focuses on bringing clinics to convenient locations, and a patient-centered approach to the design of clinic spaces and staff training. Oral health and body health are more connected as we age and more frequent teeth cleaning is key to overall health.
Spanish Legacy Adult Day Care Center
Luis comes to the Spanish Legacy Adult Day Care Center four days a week and has breakfast waiting for him. On Friday’s they have therapy exercises and dance. Movement is important for health and joy so you can’t stay locked up all day in apartments. Luis is thankful that this is offered as a relief to isolation and stress.
A toolkit: Five Steps to
begin conversations
Step 1: Start the conversation. Watch these videos!
Step 2: Review this checklist to identify what aging issues affect you.
Step 3: Scroll down to find the right resources for you.
Step 4: Share these resources with family and friends.
Step 5: Identify and carry out your plans. The best time is now.
Active Living Resources
These resources guide conversations on aging while you're active & healthy
Initial Planning: Creating a Road Map
Conversation guide and checklist to help prepare as you age
How can you begin the conversation on aging and preparing for changes? This is a widely used resource by Minnesotans on the faceagingmn.org website.
Senior LinkAge Line: Free service to help you plan for the future
An essential Minnesota “go to” for finding resources and planning for the future.
This 16-page brochure helps guide major planning milestones on your road toward retirement.
Quiz: Are you prepared to live well at home?
Take this 7-point quiz to determine your ability to live independently.
Health & Vitality
Planning Ahead: Essential Questions To Ask
This booklet is about your future. It is a roadmap that helps you identify what essential questions to ask and what to plan for as you age. Being proactive in planning will help you live as independently as possible for as long as possible.
A planning guide for aging in Minnesota
Discover a wealth of timely information and tools to help you begin long-term care planning today!
Honoring Choices: Advance and health care planning
Be proactive and complete your advance care planning health directive while you’re still active and healthy! You can download and print copies in English, Hmong, Spanish, Somali and Russian.
Preventing isolation: A guide and checklist
We all need social connections to thrive – no matter what our age. This checklist helps to uncover important isolation and loneliness risk factors. You will also discover actions to take to develop your “connection curve”!
Art of Caregiving
A heartfelt blog from an adult caregiving daughter
Blogger Anne Tumlinson has spent the last two decades working on improving how America can care for its frailest, most vulnerable older adults. Whether you’re an adult daughter, mother, aunt or grandmother, these writings will heighten your awareness of intergenerational opportunities that matter most.
A planning guide on caring for family and friends
Begin the conversation about what is most important to you and your loved ones as you age (where and how to start, who to include and how to navigate important decisions).
Volunteering & Community Service
Volunteering: Seniors and family members step up
Learn six essential things you can do to support aging in your community. Supporting each other across generations is beneficial for everyone!
Wise Resources
Disability Linkage Line: Up-to-date info for people with disabilities
Identify important community resources (housing, benefits, referral) for persons with disabilities living in MN.
Veterans LinkAge Line: A guide for care, benefits and resources
An information resource with consumer tools on benefits, education opportunities, and more for Minnesota veterans and their families.
A service guide for seniors, caregivers and families
A comprehensive, newly designed resource for persons of any age and background on staying independent within your community. Topics include transportation, disabilities options and much more.
Supported Living Resources
These resources reflect new questions that arise as you seek more support
Initial Planning: Creating a Road Map
Senior LinkAge Line: Free service to help you plan for the future
An essential help line for older adults and families seeking resources and planning for the future.
Honoring Choices: Advance health care planning
Starting intergenerational advance care planning conversations on health care wishes is essential across generations! Identify the kind of health care you want in a health care directive that reflects your personal beliefs and values.
Health & Vitality
Tips to begin family conversations on aging
An insightful blog by Amy Goyer on aging with compelling stories and reflections.
Perspectives and resources for aging by public television
This superb national resource is designed for individuals transitioning from one phase of their adult life to another – with a focus on health, family, financial, living options and much more.
10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s
Memory loss that disrupts daily life may be a symptom of Alzheimer's or another dementia. Identify the 10 warning signs and symptoms that signal the need for a physician consultation.
Maintaining independence and physical activity
How can we keep our balance and remain physically independent? This eight-week workshop shows us how to preserve our physical stability.
Preventing isolation: A guide and checklist
We all need social connections to thrive – no matter what our age. This checklist helps uncover important isolation and loneliness risk factors. You will also discover actions to take to develop your “connection curve”!
Art of Caregiving
Caregivers Resource Guide: Tips & Tools
Being a caregiver may take you by surprise. It’s important to know that every caregiving experience is unique. This resource guide helps you find balance in your life, manage transitional moves between care settings, and provide the best care possible.
This six-week education program to improve caregiver health focuses on how to help family members, friends and other caregivers provide quality care to persons with long-term health conditions (e.g., stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, others).
Minnesota Caregiver Resource Guide
Where do you begin in identifying supports you need as a caregiver? This guide shows you where to begin, what to ask, and how to take care of yourself along the way!
Considering a New Home
Learning about housing options as you age
Looking for alternative housing options for older adults? Adult Foster Care, Board & Lodge, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, and Cooperatives are examples of living environments with support services. Discover new possibilities in thinking “out of the box”.
This easy caregiving check list guides you through important questions to ask when selecting and transitioning to an assisted living space.
Wise Resources
A service guide for seniors, caregivers and families
A comprehensive, re-designed resource for persons of any age and background on staying independent within your community. Topics include transportation, disabilities options and much more.
Staying in your home and preserving independence
What do you do if you have no family members to assist as you age? The Village to Village Network is one example of a community network that provides creative interdependent solutions.
End-of Life-Living Resources
These resources ease transitions toward end-of-life care
Art of Caregiving
What it means to be a caregiver at end-of-life
How do you care for yourself when providing challenging end-of-life care for someone? This booklet provides tips for emotional support and decision-making as end-of-life care grows near.
Health & Vitality
Caregivers' resources: tips and tools
Being a caregiver may take you by surprise. It’s important to know that every caregiving experience is unique. This resource guide helps you find balance in your life, manage transitional moves between care settings, and provide the best care possible.
Caregivers' resources: tips and tools
Being a caregiver may take you by surprise. It’s important to know that every caregiving experience is unique. This resource guide helps you find balance in your life, manage transitional moves between care settings, and provide the best care possible.
What is hospice care? Where does it take place? Who delivers and pays for this kind of care? Learn what essential questions to ask and use the “Elephant in the Exam Room” wallet card as a guide to important conversations.
Honoring Choices: How to complete your health care directive
How do you begin thinking and talking about Advance Care Planning (ACP) with loved ones? ACP is about living and being fully present - especially when decisions on end-of-life health care are in place, documented, and shared with your physician, clinic, and family members. Have the conversation, complete your health care directive and know your wishes and preferences have been fully communicated to the right people!
Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people with serious illnesses. Many myths and misunderstandings about palliative care exist. This animated short clearly explains what palliative care can do for you.
Stories about loss and and end-of-life care wishes
Everyone has a story about losing someone close. Explore these personal stories from people like you. Learning about other people’s experiences is a good way to get your own health care decisions conversation started.
10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s
Memory loss that disrupts daily life may be a symptom of Alzheimer's or another dementia. Identify the 10 warning signs and symptoms that signal the need to see your physician.
Interviews on navigating end-of-life care
As America's population ages, more family members confront realities related to end-of-life care. Two physicians and a bioethics expert joined MPR News commentator Kerri Miller to talk about how to navigate important end-of-life decisions.
A collaborative initiative and resource to help Minnesotans age well. It starts with you. It starts at home.