According to the US Census Bureau by 2034, there will be more people 65 years and older (77 million) than there will be under the age of 18 (76.5 million). One quarter of baby boomers (born 1946-1964) did not have children and about one third of Americans aged 45 - 62 are currently single.

In the past, when an aging adult needed assistance with healthcare and caregiving matters, their adult child(ren) or other younger family members were available to help out. As the statistics above point out, in the case of the current senior populations, there are fewer adult children to provide assistance.

For those who did not have children or lack the support of adult family members, ensuring support as they age requires an extra layer of intentional and thoughtful planning to make sure supports are in place when needed.

Navigating Solo Founder and Solo Aging Educator and Advocate Ailene Gerhardt, MA, BCPA, is passionate about this issue and sees the need for enhanced support and resources for solo agers. The Navigating Solo Network is designed to meet the growing needs and demands of this unique and important demographic.

Solo agers need and deserve:

• A wide array of support services and resources, many of which have only recently been developed or have not yet been created.

• To work with a diverse network of professionals that are knowledgeable about their unique needs

• Services, Tools, and Resources created with them in mind

• Guidance and support planning

• Greater public awareness

The Navigating Solo Network was founded by Ailene Gerhardt, MA, BCPA, CSA, in October 2021. Ailene is an Independent Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA), Solo Aging expert & founder of her national patient advocacy practice Beacon Patient Solutions LLC. Ailene's dynamic advocacy work includes a focus on Solo Aging. This expertise led to the Fall 2021 founding of the Navigating Solo Network™, a national website, network, & online clearinghouse featuring resources specifically for solo agers.

Ailene was honored with the Independent Advocate of the Year award in September 2023 at the 2023 Healthcare Advocate Summit in New Orleans. She is the creator of the annual national initiative SAVvy Day: Solo Aging Visibility Day & the host of The Navigating Solo™ Podcast. 

While we offered memberships when we launched our site in October 2021, we are pausing memberships as of August 1, 2024 to revamp the Empowered Solo Membership program. We will likely re-launch memberships in January 2025.

Yes. We are working on developing training sessions and a training series for professionals to understand more fully about the needs of solo agers. We’ll have more news to share at the beginning of 2025!

Are you interested in attending a training session? Email Ailene!

October 2024 and beyond:

• Navigating Solo Workbook for Purchase

• Regional Groups

• Training Sessions for Professionals

• On Demand Webinars

• and more!