The Hilda

Hilda was born in Argentina. Sixty years ago, her husband had a six-month consulting job in New York City. They both fell in love with America and decided to stay. Hilda describes herself as gregarious and has always been a star. She has acted all of her life. Her main interest in life is communication and empathy, and for her, acting is empathy. She used to go to the theater literally every night – to plays, ballets, the opera, dance.

Her apartment is in a housing development known as a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), which she calls “a blessing.” She is on the advisory council, volunteers every week, and gives others the gift of laughter in her improvisation class. She has organized two reading groups, one of which focuses on comedies and dramas. JASA embraces the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community model as an effective community-based partnership approach to help adults age in place and strengthen the neighborhoods in which they live. NORC services include individualized social work assistance and nursing support, group programming, intergenerational events, and meaningful volunteer and leadership opportunities.

NORC program staff also offer information and assistance to help older community residents secure benefits and entitlements, transportation to medical appointments, home care, and home-delivered meals. Each NORC program operates as a focal point in the community and helps foster a neighbor-to-neighbor support network.