Ark Valley News - Senior housing essential

Senior housing essential
Last Updated: September 06, 2018

It's encouraging to see that the opportunities for residents to grow old in Valley Center are expanding. But it's not enough.

Mennonite Housing's Sunflower Gardens on the city's east side recently opened 12 senior-style apartments and will open 16 more later this month. The apartments, which are for income-eligible seniors, will undoubtedly fill up quickly as our population ages and more residents choose to stay close to home as they retire and grow older.

Valley Center has for years seen an exodus of senior citizens who want to downsize or want to live in an apartment-style complex where they don't have the headaches of homeownership.

Fortunately, those types of homes are expanding here.

The gaping hole we have now is the next rung of residential opportunities, where residents receive certain levels of care.

Private in-home services are available across the city, but Valley Center has no nursing home or assisted-living facility, forcing many to relocate to nearby towns and away from their families.

As city leaders support Sunflower Gardens, we encourage them to continue to pave the way for other types of facilities as well. We can all agree that age diversity — and the strong family connections it fosters — is a hallmark of a healthy community.

— The Ark Valley News