AARP Hawai‘i Offers Free Workshop on Home Upgrades for Seniors

AARP Hawai’i is offering a free workshop for Maui residents looking to improve their homes so they can continue living there regardless of their age or physical ability.  The Home For Life workshop takes place on Friday, May 11 at the Kaunoa Senior Center in Paia.

An AARP survey of older Hawai‘i residents found most like the communities in which they live and nearly 80% want to remain in their own homes as they age. Not surprisingly, many home and apartment owners age 45 and older say they will have to remodel their homes to allow them to continue living there, with bathrooms being the most common home modification.

Topics covered in the workshop include simple, inexpensive modifications that homeowners can do themselves, such as changing light fixtures and cabinet handles, budgeting and planning for a major remodeling project, assistive technology solutions and planning for “normal” aging.

Speakers include Curt Kiriu, a certified aging in place specialist and licensed contractor, and Barbara Fischleowitz Leong, executive director of the Assistitve Technology Resource Centers of Hawai’i.

The free Home for Life Workshop runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Kaunoa Senior Center Wellness Building, 401 Alakapa Place. You don’t have to be an AARP member to attend, but you should register online or call 1-877-926-8300.