01/10/2026
Brown Bag Business Spotlight: WNY Aging in Place Council
Most of us plan for retirement. Few of us plan for the staircase.
The WNY Aging in Place Council does. Founded in 2024, it exists to get Western New York's senior organizations collaborating, so programs and funding reach the safe, secure homes seniors want to stay in. The motto says it plainly: Making your house your home.
Willie A Price Speaks leads the charge as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS), Universal Design Essentials Specialist, and Rehabilitation Specialist. His message is that preparing to age in place can't wait for a fall or a health scare. Homes, finances, transportation, and support systems all need to be ready before the crisis shows up.
He takes that message on the road. This summer, he brought a free workshop, "Aging Safely in Place in Your Apartment," to residents at Wrobel Towers in Niagara Falls on August 8, alongside Josh Randall of Cornell Cooperative Extension, who covered staying safe in extreme heat. The series is built on eight keys: home safety, transportation, nutrition and meal services, financial preparedness, fitness and health, estate planning, community resources, and Universal Design technology.
The workshops led to the Council's first Aging in Place Awareness Forum on September 26 at the Delavan Grider Community Center on Buffalo's East Side. Older adults, families, and caregivers met Cornell Cooperative Extension, UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Touching Hearts at Home Buffalo, the Handz Foundation, Yireh Elder Care Services, and Jess Taylor: Yoga & Fitness. A Better YOU Lifestyle and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Caregivers grant sponsor the series and forum.
Price keeps the goal simple. "Your home should support you as you age."
For so many of our elders, home is the thing they built and paid for. Keeping them there safely is about dignity as much as design.
Reach the Council at 716 246 1477 or [email protected], or find WNY Aging in Place Council events and info on Facebook.