More News

Magical numbers: 65-plus is a plus

Bethesda, Chevy Chase benefit from elderly residents

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Brian Lewis⁄The Gazette Florence Gang (front) of Chevy Chase and Cora Shaller of Bethesda practice Pilates during a class at the Bethesda Vital Living Center. Click here to enlarge this photo Click here to enlarge this photo

The Bethesda resident has been taking basic computer classes at the Bethesda Vital Living Center for several weeks.

‘‘My kids sent the [computer] over and said I might be interested in it,” she said.

But the computer class is only one of Richmond’s interests.

She also regularly attends lectures at the Jewish Community Center, volunteers at the Holocaust Museum, takes classes at the Smithsonian and travels with Elderhostel.

‘‘You have to stay active, so you don’t fade away,” she said.

Richmond is among the growing population of senior citizens in the Bethesda and Chevy Chase communities. Those seniors — just over 15,000 — are an integral part of the community who volunteer, give historical perspective and help shape community amenities.

According to the 2000 Census, 16.4 percent of all people over age 65 in Montgomery County live in Bethesda and the senior population is growing. The 65-plus population in Bethesda and Chevy Chase is projected to grow from 15,141 in 2000 to 17,558 in 2025.

‘‘The demographics shape the community and the community shapes the demographics,” said Elizabeth Boehner, director of the Montgomery County Area Agency on Aging. ‘‘It’s a two-way street.”

Bethesda and Chevy Chase have built-in features that are senior-friendly.

‘‘It’s a community that was built at a time when we built communities differently,” she said.

Bethesda and Chevy Chase both benefit from and makes accommodations for its large senior population.

One of the most important issues for seniors is sociability, said County Councilman Howard A. Denis (R-Dist. 1) of Chevy Chase.

‘‘To be able to live in an environment that’s intergenerational — in many ways it’s the way the Central Business District in downtown Bethesda evolved...,” he said. ‘‘You see a throbbing intergenerational mass of people. It’s what seniors need and it’s what juniors need, too.

‘‘Seniors benefit from being around young people and young people benefit from being around seniors,” Denis said. ‘‘This is what neighborhoods used to be.”

‘Blasting stereotypes’

‘‘People always think about seniors as being needy,” Boehner said, ‘‘but they’re shaping the community in really positive ways.”

Bethesda and Chevy Chase have the highest percentage of seniors in the county — 19.4 percent of the population of Bethesda and Chevy Chase, roughly 1 in 5 people, is 65 or older, according to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services. But rather than being a drain on the community, seniors contribute to making Bethesda an attractive place to live.

‘‘What is notable is how many of the seniors in Montgomery County, especially in Bethesda, are vital and active in their communities,” said David Gamse, executive director of the Jewish Council for the Aging, which operates the Bethesda Vital Living Center. ‘‘They are looking not to be the recipients of care, but to provide service.

‘‘They want to volunteer, they want to take classes to educate themselves, so they can better relate with service organizations or with their grandchildren,” he said. ‘‘A lot of what we’re seeing, especially in Bethesda is blasting stereotypes.”

Marjorie Taylor Coleman, 76, is a volunteer with Interages, an organization that pairs seniors with children as mentors or tutors. The retired school teacher has worked with the organization for nearly eight years.

‘‘I felt that this was a way I could contribute to the community,” the Bethesda resident said.

She said volunteering gives her a sense of contributing and a sense of satisfaction.

‘‘A significant number of volunteers come from the Bethesda community,” said Sara Cartmill, Interages volunteer manager. About 20 to 25 out of a total of 175 volunteers live in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, she said.

In addition to Interages, Coleman is involved with a committee at her church that gives financial aid to a Kenyan village and volunteers with the Washington Performing Arts Society.

‘‘I feel this is the way we can stay mentally alert and participate in life as much as possible,” she said. ‘‘I feel like I’m really contributing. I really feel a sense of gratification with the way these children take off.”

In general, Bethesda’s seniors have time and money to spend, leaving them free to support cultural amenities and volunteer organizations in the community.

‘‘We certainly have lots of seniors that volunteer at our events,” said Stephanie Coppula, spokeswoman for Bethesda Urban Partnership, an organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining downtown Bethesda. ‘‘They like to be out and about and involved with the community.”

Aging in place

For the most part, Bethesda’s senior population is made up of people who have lived there for years.

‘‘Communities in the lower end of the county were built at a time when people were young and had families and many people aged in place,” Boehner said.

Bethesda and Chevy Chase has the county’s greatest concentration of naturally occurring retirement communities or NORCs, she said.

To draw more attention to the issue of aging in place, the county Department of Aging is teaming up with a number of other agencies and organizations for an event called A Salute to the Greatest Generation during National Aging in Place Week, which takes place from Nov. 7-13. The event will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Nov. 9 at the Chevy Chase Methodist Church, 7001 Connecticut Ave., and will feature a dance and sing-along.

‘‘We want to make people aware that aging in place is a phenomenon,” Boehner said. ‘‘And there are all kinds of services and products available to make this easier.”

In some ways, communities have to adjust to better serve their aging residents.

In Bethesda, for example, the county opened the Bethesda seniors program in 1996 to meet the needs of the community.

‘‘One of the things we did do specifically is to develop the Bethesda Vital Living Center because we saw a need for that,” Boehner said. ‘‘There was no senior center anywhere close to there.”

Officials in the Department of Health and Human Services, Regional Services Center and the county executive’s office worked together to ensure that a place for senior programs would be included in the new Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center that was built on top of the parking garage on Edgemoor Lane.

They recognized that the needs of the community’s seniors had to be better met.

Denis said he recently heard from some seniors about the need for increased accessibility at the Strathmore Music Center and other area attractions.

‘‘We need to encourage [seniors using community resources] by making it as easy as possible and listen to seniors,” he said. ‘‘At this point, it’s mostly fine tuning.”

Bethesda and Chevy Chase are some of the best-suited areas in the county for aging in place, Boehner said.

The communities have a higher median income than other parts of the county in general, she said. Likewise, Bethesda seniors have a higher median income than seniors in other parts of the county — although seniors in general have a lower income than the general population.

‘‘The reason, for example, why Bethesda supports so many restaurants is because there is a population with leisure time and money to spend,” Boehner said.

On the other hand, Bethesda has many services available for seniors to take advantage of.

Bethesda has sidewalks, a good mass transit system and established churches, social organizations and institutions that provide activities and socialization for seniors.

‘‘There’s so much established and so many resources that we didn’t want to duplicate,” Boehner said.

Services and activities

Still, there are many services available.

The Bethesda Vital Living center is a partnership between the county and the Jewish Council for the Aging, which offers classes and recreational activities.

The computer and exercise classes, including yoga and pilates are the most popular, Gamse said.

Jeanne Burrous, 78, of Gaithersburg travels to Bethesda once a week for yoga classes at the Bethesda Vital Living Center.

In addition to the exercise, she takes watercolor classes, subscribes to a ballet series at the Kennedy Center and enjoys going to the symphony and reading.

She said it’s important to stay active.

‘‘It keeps you meeting people and it gives you a much better attitude,” she said. ‘‘You’ll go stagnate if you don’t.”

The Bethesda Vital Living Center is a different model than the county’s other community senior centers, Boehner said.

‘‘At Bethesda, we’ve never had a senior nutrition site and there’s never been a demand for it,” she said.

However, there is a senior nutrition site, which serves free lunch Monday through Friday, at The Waverly House, a Housing Opportunity Commission senior public high-rise in Bethesda.

The county Aging and Disabilities Services also provide, or can connect people to a range of services that are available throughout the county, including information and referrals, protective services, case management, financial assistance for assisted living or nursing home care, senior legal services and more.

‘‘At the county level, we see our role as providing information to people and providing links for them,” Boehner said.

Across the community there are programs designed to keep seniors social, active and healthy.

The Montgomery County Police Department conducts programs for seniors, such as mature driving classes, distributing free donated cell phones and presentations on personal safety tips, said Community Outreach Officer Laurie Reyes.

Both White Flint Mall and Westfield Montgomery offer free movies for seniors once a month and weekly mall walking exercise groups.

County libraries hold events of particular interest to seniors, including discussions, computer and Internet classes and health screenings. Visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov⁄Apps⁄Libraries⁄newsandevents⁄seniors.asp or call your local branch for a list of senior interest events at libraries.

For Richmond, Bethesda has the perfect mix of services, activities and conveniences.

‘‘Here you’re living in the suburbs, but there’s great access to the city,” she said. ‘‘There is a lot there and the area itself has a lot. I was at the Round House [Theater] recently. It’s right in our backyard.

‘‘There’s a lot of opportunity here and as long as people are well, there’s no lack of things to do.”