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Aging In America

The societal and institutional barriers that prevent older adults from living with greater dignity and independence.

These stories are made possible by a grant from The SCAN Foundation.

Mary Ellen McConnell, a white woman with white hair, is standing over her kitchen table. In front of her are documents related to fracking on her property.

Pennsylvania’s fracking boom is hurting its oldest residents

Kate Raphael reports on how fracking effects older adults' health for Grist.

Josie Adler, 80, molds a mask in a pottery class in Berkeley, California.

Have this talk with your parents now to reduce heartache later

Leqi Zhong reports on a difficult conversation between older adults and their adult children.

Photo from the backseat of a van of Floyd Coleman helping Mark Daldegan get into a minivan outside the Dillon

Lack of transportation strands seniors in rural Kansas, a worsening problem as the country ages

Andrew Lopez ('23) reports on how lack of transportation presents a challenge for older adults who want to age in their rural communities.

82-year-olds Jane Lapiner (left) and David Simpson, formerly known as the Diggers embrace in their living room, with a bookshelf in the background. He is wearing a blue shirt and darker blue vest, she is wearing a gray sweater.

1970s-era ‘back-to-the-landers’ now aging in place together

Ruth Dusseault reports on how 'back-to-the-landers' age in place in Northern California.

Camran Hayes, a white man, cares for Virginia Domini an older white woman. Virginia is wearing a polka dot top and Hayes is helping her stretch out her arm.

As worker shortages loom, some states move to train paid caregivers

Katie Rodriguez reports on efforts to standardize training for caregivers, the latest in the IRP's reporting on Aging in America.

Farmer Rick Cook is a white man wearing a blue T-shirt and tan baseball cap. He is sitting on a green John Deere tractor in front of a barn on his Farmstead.

Aging farmers toil well past retirement, with no heirs or desire to leave land they’ve tended for decades

Cara Nixon reports on the challenges of succession planning for Oregon farmers.

SUNY Chancellor John King is standing in a Nursing Skills Lab at SUNY Plattsburgh. John King is wearing a dark suit and has his hands in his pockets, he is standing in a hospital room where a practice mannequin is in the hospital bed in front of him.

With 1 in 4 New Yorkers over 60, state seeks public’s help in master plan for surging senior population

Ruth Dusseault reports the latest in our coverage of Aging in America

Cindy Tine, a white woman with brown hair wearing a pink t-shirt, is holding a large gray cat next to her.

Pets can make aging easier, but they’re expensive. CT volunteers are looking to help

Richard Tzul reports on The Senior Paw Project, a program that helps older people take care of and keep their pets.

A large white truck, license plate reads: 14 Fire Rescue

Older Adults in Sonoma County to Get Fire-Safety Home Retrofits — for Free

Kate Raphael ('24) reports on a Sonoma County program to help older adults retrofit their homes.

Mother and daughter Annie and Tanya Dixon sit in a pew together during Sunday services. Both are masked.

Making churches more welcoming for members with dementia: ‘ We don’t want them to think they’re forgotten.’

Celeste Hamilton Dennis ('24) reports on a program to make church services more welcoming to members with dementia

A young woman hands an older man a Trader Joe

Nearly 1.5 million California seniors could get help to buy food, but don’t. Here’s why

Kori Suzuki reports the latest in our coverage of Aging in American

A pedestrian passes Marty’s Place, a housing co-op for people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco. 1 of 2 A pedestrian passes Marty’s Place, a housing co-op for people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco.

Long-term HIV survivors find familial support in unique S.F. group home

Jeremiah Rhodes ('24) reports on older adults living with HIV, the latest in the IRP's coverage of Aging in America

Screenshot from the video, with a satellite map on one side, and a skyscraper on the other.

How SF’s Affordable Housing Crisis Is Crushing Retirement For Its Low-Income Seniors

Chris Chang reports on how low-income seniors struggle to find housing in San Fransciso.

Debora Royal, center, takes her seat for the Thanksgiving meal for members of Kingdom Care Senior Village Friday in Washington.

‘Villages’ for the aging coming to more Black communities

Myah Overstreet reports on the Kingdom Care Senior Village in the latest from our Aging in America Project.

Betty Gray, a black woman in her 70s with highlighted hair sits on a couch by the front door of her apartment in Berkeley.

Stuck in place: How older adults end up trapped inside their own homes

Francesca Dixon standing outside in a red dress

LGBTQ seniors can struggle to find affordable housing. A Sacramento development is trying to help.

Felicia Alvarez ('23) reports on on an affordable housing community aimed at LGBTQ seniors in Sacramento.

Javier Garcia is standing in a blue shirt placing a kitten-print pillow under Josette Paoni’s head while she sits in a chair with her head down and eyes closed.

How to keep older adults safer during heat waves? Give them housemates.

Sofie Kodner ('22) reports on intergenerational housing as a way to protect seniors during extreme heat waves.

A roofer works on top of a housing development while the sun shines brightly behind them, during a June 2021 heatwave.

Climate change is fueling extreme heat. Who’s looking out for the most vulnerable Americans?

Katie Rodriguez ('23) reports on the risk extreme heat poses to older Americans and how "buddy" programs are emerging to help.

Search and rescue team and a person in scrubs help transfer three older women in to a van, in the background smoke from the Camp fire can be seen as the Feather River hospital burns behind them.

In Climate-Driven Disasters, Older People and the Disabled Are Most at Risk. Now In-Home Caregivers Are Being Trained in How to Help Them

Katie Rodriguez ('23) reports how in-home caregivers are preparing for climate emergencies for the IRP's Aging in America project.

A performer in a big spiky wig at The Posh club leads a conga line of older adults.

Dancing away the loneliness: In the UK, social prescriptions help fight isolation during the pandemic

Sofie Kodner ('22) and Zachary Fletcher ('22) report on social prescriptions for loneliness in older adults for the IRP's Aging in America reporting project.

No way out: How the poor get stranded in California nursing homes

Jesse Bedayn ('21) reports for CalMatters on how nursing home residents end up stuck in facilities and unable to return to the community.

How new monitoring systems keep a close watch on older people

Sofie Kodner ('22) reports on how surveillance technology is changing caregiving for older Americans.

Conversation and Cookies Lead to An Intergenerational Friendship

Zachary Fletcher ('22) reports on the friendship of octogenarian Sukari Addison and millennial Kathleen Toohill.

How Amtrak Trains Became One Retired Traveler’s Sanctuary During the Pandemic

Will McCarthy ('21) reports on one woman's trip across the country during the pandemic.

‘It makes a humongous difference’: Lack of Wi-Fi in city SROs deepens residents’ isolation

Sofie Kodner ('22) reports on lack of access to the internet in San Francisco's SRO buildings.

Extreme weather hurts older Californians. That’s started a wave of climate activism

Zachary Fletcher ('22) reports on a new wave of climate activism among older adults.

Hope and disappointment for the homeless in Oakland

Brett Simpson ('21) reports for The New York Times on a homeless couple's yearlong odyssey to find permanent housing in Oakland.

Essential caregivers were locked out of nursing homes during COVID-19. Advocates don’t want it to happen again.

Anne Marshall-Chalmers ('22) reports for USA Today on the movement to allow essential caregivers to enter nursing homes, even during a pandemic.

‘I feel freer.’ How California program helps seniors ‘age at home’ during pandemic

Jesse Bedayn ('21) reports on a California program that helps older adults age at home instead of long-term care facilities

Elderly at small residential care homes face challenges getting COVID-19 vaccine

Anne Marshall-Chalmers ('22) reports on how elderly at small residential care homes are facing challenges getting COVID-19 vaccine

‘How am I going to keep this up?’ COVID intensifies plight of family caregivers

Anne Marshall-Chalmers ('22) reports on howCOVID is intensifying the plight of family caregivers

Rapid vaccine rollout at California nursing homes raises concern

Anne Marshall-Chalmers ('22) reports on how the rapid vaccine rollout at California nursing homes is raising concerns

With COVID-19 concerns, anxious families eye in-home senior care

As part of our in-depth coverage of aging in America, Brett Simpson ('21) reports for The California Report Magazine on how some families are turning to in-home care as care homes become Covid hot spots.