Margie Sigman

ASHEVILLE -- Imagine being able to age in place in a new, award-winning home right here in Buncombe County that was designed for maximum accessibility. Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity submitted Aging in Place house plans to a Habitat for Humanity International design competition, and they won the 2023 Best in Accessibility Award!

When you were a kid, most often trails were reachable only after a boring car or bus ride which was a little too long or hard. As they say, "times have changed," and our state is making it easier than ever for you to get outside and active on a trail.

How did the Asheville area become the vibrant, welcoming, and diverse place that we know today? Beginning February 21, AARP in the NC Mountain Region is sponsoring a series of monthly evening lectures, This Is Home: Western North Carolina, Past and Present, to explore the key historical, cultural, and ecological forces that have shaped our region and its people. The series is curated and presented by Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain, NC.

Good things happen when volunteers from AARP’s Mountain Region team up with our seven regional YMCAs. In this informative series of in-person talks, knowledgeable speakers will present on topics such as decluttering, brain health, and fraud prevention. (See complete list below.)

Typical holiday parties feature lots of talk, laughter, food and drinks in abundance. For AARP volunteers in North Carolina’s Mountain Region, who actively enable people to choose how they wish to live as they age, this year's annual holiday party was very different, but every bit as memorable.

Making and sending valentines has been an American tradition since the end of the 18th Century. Here in North Carolina, AARP is offering two events in February to make it easy for you to extend this tradition of love to older Americans, especially the several million who are isolated or living alone.

Western North Carolina has a long history of hosting, helping, and honoring veterans, whether they grew up here or came here during or after their service. As far back as the 1880s, when tuberculosis, or “The White Plague,” was the leading cause of death in the United States, the Asheville area was a leading treatment center for vets as well as civilians.

“It’s funny where a little research can take you,” AARP volunteer Sara Knapp mused recently. “Like all volunteers, I wanted to make a difference and have an impact in my community. In my case, I began by searching through Transylvania County health data and ended up becoming a Tai Chi instructor! Never in my wildest dreams,” she laughs.

ASHEVILLE, NC -- With summer in full swing, you may be looking for ways to tiptoe back to normalcy after a tough year of COVID. You would probably prefer to continue staying outdoors as much as possible and avoid big crowds. Here is a sampling of possibilities from our partners around the Western North Carolina region, each chosen to highlight one of the eight domains of livability for residents of ages.

BOONE, NC -- Imagine living in an area where four clinically approved wellness assessments are offered free of charge to seniors, while the same tests might cost hundreds of dollars if ordered by a doctor somewhere else? What’s not to like? This is the situation at Appalachian State University, where the Interprofessional Clinic uses the free tests to help train both undergrad and graduate students. But during the pandemic there’s been a hitch, there's not enough seniors signing up for the tests.