April 26, 1999 Volume 21, No. 15

Complete information, including on-line registration is available on the conference Web page.

Gerontology Institute to Sponsor Conference on Housing Issues The Gerontology Institute will present a daylong conference on Thursday, May 20, devoted to community environments and housing issues for older people. Titled "The Places We Call Home," the conference was designed by a committee of faculty and community agency representatives to bring valuable information to local housing providers, residential designers and developers, professionals in aging services, family members, and individuals. Through lectures and workshops, the conference will explore the concept of place and its relationship to well-being for older adults; address the topic of aging in place, including the importance of design and home modification; and define and differentiate various housing options for older adults. Policy issues currently being debated in the state of New York will also be presented. The conference will feature a keynote address by Joel Savishinsky, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Social Sciences and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Ithaca College. Titled "Lonesome in the Saddle, or How to Feel at Home in Later Life," his presentation will focus on the concept of "home" and how older people create a sense of self through the decisions they make about their sense of place in the world. Also addressing the gathering will be Vera Prosper, a housing policy analyst for the New York State Office for the Aging, who will discuss "Senior Housing: What’s Happening and What Does It Mean?" Concurrent sessions scheduled for the day will focus on such topics as "Making Communities ‘Livable’ for Older People," "Cohousing: An Option for People of All Ages," "Elder-design: Ten Housing Design Principles for Aging in Place," and "Integrating Diverse Populations into Senior Housing." Presenters will include John Krout, director of the Gerontology Institute; Anita Altman, assistant executive director for resource development at the United Jewish Appeal of New York; Rosemary Bakker, author of Elderdesign: Designing and Furnishing a Home for Your Later Years; Phyllis Moen, director of the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center at Cornell University; George Russell, housing specialist at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging; and Liz Walker, director and cofounder of EcoVillage at Ithaca. The conference has been planned by the Tompkins County Office for the Aging, the Cornell University Departments of Policy and Management and Design and Environmental Analysis, and the Ithaca College Department of Occupational Therapy. The conference is hosted by Ithaca College and sponsored by the College’s Gerontology Institute and Division of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, the New York State Office for the Aging and Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The cost to attend the entire conference is $40, with half-day options also available. For information on conference content call the Gerontology Institute at 274-1965. Questions about registration should be addressed to the continuing education office at 274-3143.