CNN Hero Tackles Needs of Older Americans
HARRIS: Baby boomers heading for retirement. In 20 years, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65. So who's going to take care of them? This week's CNN Hero is starting already, helping older Americans stay active, engaged and independent.</s>IRENE ZOLA, CNN HERO: Before my mother's experience, seniors on the street were pretty much invisible to me. My mother went in the nursing home after a stroke. I didn't want to leave my mother in a place where people were ignoring her. Here's my mom. This was a month before she passed away. I was shocked that our culture doesn't have a place for very old people except in nursing homes, and I decided that I wanted to do something about that. My name is Irene Zola, and my organization is Helping Seniors Age at Home. Do you want to sit on a bench for a moment?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. OK.</s>ZOLA: So, we help to connect seniors with people in the community, and the volunteers provide any kind of informal care that is wanted by the seniors.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought you chicken noodle soup.</s>ZOLA: There is a growing population of elders. Families are living great distances from one another.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.</s>ZOLA: So, this is one way that a community really makes a difference.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a sweetie. She makes you feel enriched, and she has a way about her like somebody cares.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely made me more aware. It's made me feel more connected to my own neighbors and my own neighborhood.</s>ZOLA: Some people believe that old age is a time when people stop learning, but it's not. Why not live life to the fullest? And that's what I love to see.</s>HARRIS: And remember, to nominate someone you think is literally changing the world, just go to CNNHeroes.com.