Conference looks to tackle challenges senior citizens face

Experts are working to find ways to tackle the challenges senior citizens face in Southwest Virginia.

To inspire creative solutions, the senior living design firm SFCS is hosting its 35th Annual By Design Conference.

"This is gathering of the minds, this is brainstorming, we are presenting real research in their right now," SFCS CEO Tye Campbell said.

The number of adults over 65 will nearly double in the next 20 years, Campbell said.

One of the issues addressed at the conference included affordable housing for seniors.

“A lot of what we design every day, quite frankly some of us will never be able to afford to live there and take advantage of that. So we are working with researchers, programs, providers to try to find ways to give that experience but drive the cost down"

Care-providers said they're trying to be proactive about this problem.

"We're planning now, we are not going to wait, we are going to build, be prepared and do the outreach and the service," The Glebe Executive Director Ellen D’Ardenne said.

Students from Virginia Tech also attended the conference to display their innovative ideas that could help people as they age.

"We kind of began to think about how we can improve the living situations that they have there. So what can we do to help them continue living comfortably in the place that they are," Industrial Design Student Jacqueline Miller said.

It's the comfort and care, this conference hopes to deliver and encourage as these leaders shape the landscape of senior living.