Program helps move the narrative about aging in place from scary to a practical vision of a vibrant future.
Centreville, MD
Queen Anne’s at Home (QA@H) recently completed the 4th quarter session of its proprietary Ready or Not workshop. The program is an extremely valuable benefit for members of the nonprofit organization which is a community of seniors in Queen Anne’s County who help each other thrive as they age in their own homes.
QA@H’s Ready or Not program, designed by and for QA@H members, is a planning tool comprised of 4 workshop sessions that build on the group’s quality of life pillars: Connection, Purpose and Empowerment. The scope of the Ready or Not activity is to provide:
- A tool to help members organize and plan for aging in place
- An educational program to provide members with knowledge they’ll need to thrive
- An opportunity to collaborate and develop practical strategies for staying healthy, safe, connected and independent at home
Participating households (e.g., spouses or partners, singles or families) use the Ready or Not workbook as structured “homework” to spark conversations about visions and fears, challenges and opportunities that may impact their ability to age in place. After tackling each section individually, households come together along with the facilitator, a QA@H member who is trained in mediation and problem-solving techniques.
At these joint meetings, participants share stories, learn to access helpful resources, and brainstorm practical solutions to common problems. The facilitator encourages the group to explore and address issues – as well as creative solutions – that participants may not have imagined on their own, all while ensuring that privacy and appropriate boundaries are maintained. Although each household ends up with its own plan, this group effort encourages participants to dig a bit deeper and think more broadly.
Participants in the Ready or Not program consider these questions:
- What is important to us? What might happen to us in the future?
- What are our options (e.g., stay home, move somewhere)?
- What can we do to prepare?
- What resources will we need (e.g., short-term home health, long-term financial management, family support)?
Links to useful resources are included to help participants make informed decisions.
QA@H President Cindy Bach shared survey responses from members who participated in current and past Ready or Not sessions. She said, “The overwhelmingly positive response we received illustrates that there is a definite need to help people plan ahead so they can age in their own homes. That’s what our Ready or Not workshop does. One couple said that the experience was life-changing. Every person who returned a survey indicated that they would highly recommend this workshop to others. That’s a very strong endorsement! We are so pleased to offer this important benefit to all of our members.”
Survey responses included these comments:
- “Ready or Not seriously changed how we look at our future. Turns out proactive preparation takes a whole lot more than just insurance and a financial plan!”
- “What I liked best was the discussion about what we need to plan for – not only at the end but between now and then.”
- “I now feel I have the resilience I’ll need to cope with what may be an uncertain future.”
- “We knew we needed to have these discussions about our future, but it felt overwhelming, and frankly, something we didn’t want to think about. The workshop helped us get on the same page and feeling good about being proactive. We think of this as a gift not only to us but to our families.”
The Ready or Not program is just one of many benefits of membership. For more than 6 years, QA@H has been serving seniors in Queen Anne’s County with more than 100 members and growing. In addition to offering educational seminars on topics such as the very popular brain health workshops, the organization offers a wide variety of social events from coffee meet ups to canasta, Mah Jongg and book club to a walking club and pickleball. This gives members myriad opportunities to make new friends while helping to prevent the isolation that many seniors experience.
For more information about Queen Anne’s at Home and to inquire about membership, visit www.queenannesathome.org or call 410-635-4045.
# ## #
~ Queen Anne’s at Home
QA@H is a caring community of seniors who help each other stay safe, healthy, connected, and independent at home. Its mission is to help seniors thrive at home which addresses the number one fear that senior citizens have: “What if I can’t stay in my own home?” Members assist each other with rides to appointments and household chores, among other things. QA@H arranges social activities such as coffee meet-ups, happy hours, and outdoor adventures as well as educational seminars where experts present topics relevant to seniors.
Founded in 2018, QA@H is based on the model of seniors helping seniors to thrive as we age in our own homes. Members offer help as they can and seek help as they need. This reciprocity helps build on QA@H’s three foundational principles of empowerment, connection, and purpose.
The Queen Anne’s At Home Fund is a component fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, a public foundation designated as a 501(c)(3) charity. Donations to the Fund support Queen Anne’s At Home’s programs helping seniors stay safe, healthy, connected, and independent at home and are tax-deductible as allowed by law. A copy of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s financial statement is available at www.mscf.org or by calling 410-820-8175. Information about Mid-Shore submitted under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act can be obtained from the Office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.