America has an elderly housing crisis. The solution is hiding in your backyard.

"Single and widowed, Douglas, 82, lives alone. But, unlike so many aging Americans today, she doesn't feel isolated. Several times a week, she walks three blocks to a local outpost of the nonprofit Jewish Association Serving the Aging (JASA), where she takes dance and yoga classes, learns how to crochet, and joins excursions tomuseums like the Met and the Noguchi with her neighbors."

"A NORC is an apartment building or an entire neighborhood that wasn't designed for older people, but happens to be dominated by them, whether because its residents have gotten older or it attracts an older crowd. Designated NORCs feature a group, typically a nonprofit, that offers case management, healthcare services like mental health counseling and nursing care, and social events."

Ruth Douglas, 82, has lived in Coney Island for 40 years and attends a local Jewish Association Serving the Aging (JASA) outpost for classes, crochet and museum excursions. She lives in a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) that supports aging in place through nonprofit-led case management, mental-health counseling, nursing care, and social events. New York State subsidizes 43 NORCs, spending about $220,000 per program annually. By 2020, 6% of US Census block groups had majority populations aged 55 or older. The US will soon have more people 65+ than under 18, leaving many older adults with limited affordable relocation options.

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