Waupun Receives Aging In Place Grant

The City of Waupun will be assessing what it can do to make sure people can continue to live in their homes and the community as they age. The City has received a $15,000 state grant to help with the assessment. City Administrator Kathy Schlieve says they know from the last census that they have an aging population. She says, “That baby boomer population is aging and we know that there is going to be this larger percentage of people who are living hopefully independently and in their homes at that older age.” Schlieve notes little things like removing items from the home that can cause falls and having working smoke detectors can make it safer for older adults to continue to live in their homes. But there are other issues such as reliable transportation for medical appointments. Schlieve says the grant will help them develop a plan. She says, “Over the course of the next six to nine months we will be working through this process and hopefully developing a plan that we would be able to implement.” She hopes they will also be able to get a grant to implement that plan. The City has also partnered with Agnesian HealthCare to create the Waupun Coalition of Aging. That also includes other city departments, the Chamber of Commerce and Senior Center.