I did a quick internet search and these emergency flasher light switches can be a bit hard to find. I suggest you try using the search terms "911 locator switch" or "home locator switch". I found one called "911 Switch" at 911switch dot com, but it's pretty expensive at $150. Another is made by Pass & Seymour, model number TM8LOCATORW which is somewhere between $50 and $75. There might be some switches that can also be Alexa-controlled, but I have no further info on them. Good luck!

Bed safety rail
 

A bed safety rail that you can insert under the mattress is a great way to prevent falling out of, and for balance getting in and out of bed, especially when on medication or when otherwise disoriented. Many rails also have storage pockets.

Interesting thread.

My first thought was home modifications that apply to growing older, grab bars, non-slip driveway, walk-in showers, etc. All of which I see and most of which I agree with.

Then along came the "guns" and security systems. That is very interesting to me, how some of us consider home safety to be things like slipping and falling, and others think of someone breaking into their homes to do them harm.

It is sad to me that so many feel so insecure that they feel more of a need for guns when growing older. I am NOT saying you should not have guns if you want them, I am not saying you should not be allowed to. I just think it is sad that so many feel they need them.

My personal answer to home security concerning robbery has been, "My plan is to ask if they need help carrying anything out, or if I can get them some refreshments while they are looting". My life and their lives are worth more to me than stuff. But that is just my opinion, I expect everyone else disagrees with me.

Installed a short grab bar at the entrance to out walk in shower to hold onto for step over to get in and out along with the regular grab bars in shower and bathroom.

Get rid of all the small scatter rugs! They will trip you up when least expected.

Are you being serious when asking the question on gun remarks? Do you think all the homes in The Villages are owned by “Ward and June Cleaver” types of people. There are too many of the “want to hurt you over any little thing” types and also too many adult kids living with their parent(s) that don’t think twice about breaking into homes.

My wife and I both will be the survivors if someone does their best to harm us. And, for your info, we don’t drink.

Grab Bars - The OP asked about GRAB BARS>>>>>
 

I need help all the time in moving safely.
Grab bars are very useful. I have one beside commode and both at the entrance to the shower and also inside the shower. A portable shower chair goes in with me.
Furniture placement in the house is also important. I lose my balance while walking through the house so it's important that a piece of furniture, chair, couch or sturdy table, is in reach if I start to topple.
Never thought I'd need this kind of stuff but not too proud to use all tools available.

Well, if it makes you feel safer, go for it.

"For every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides."

nih.gov

Good for you, dealing with reality and not denying it.

All this and more is why we moved to The Villages. We are not golfers, we are not very social people, but we are getting older and lived in an older home full of issues, 30 minutes from the hospital, and 1/2 mile from our nearest neighbor on some acreage. We came and researched here, and found 5 minute EMT response times, we found Urgent Care facilities in every villa, the new homes with wide doors (wheelchair accessible), grab rails, walk-in showers, neighborhood watch patrols, and neighbors that pay attention to each other. All that makes us feel safer - so, my answer to this thread is we bought a new home here, to make us feel safer.

Night walking
 

I installed mini led nightlights everywhere. My house is never dark

Yeah, no...

I have a fire extinguisher... Do I worry about a fire?

I wear a seatbelt... Do I worry about an accident?

Here's a novel idea...

If you don't want one... Don't buy one!

Excellent post!

So often it seems everything here has to be black or white. But, the reality is most things are gray. There are many things we each do every day that doesn't guarantee anything, but help. And I expect most people don't sit around fretting (worrying) over all of them...

I don't worry about people breaking into my house. (I did move to the villages with neighborhood watch and lots of nearby neighbors)

I don't worry about the water supply becoming contaminated (but I do have a whole house filter)

And on and on. But, I guess it is just too much "fun" to argue about everything - LOL

I currently live in one of the safest suburbs of DC, yet this happened... Two of the murdered girls babysat for my kids...

We were friends with the parents...

No one thought it could ever happen here... Yet it did...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...-95665e8ded88/

Well, my home came with grab bars, non slip garage flooring, a walk in shower...

I have an alarm system up North, so why wouldn't I get one for the Southern abode?

My alarm also has a panic button in case of medical emergencies, so there's that...

I've seen too many videos of people being assaulted in DC, at restaurants I patronize to think the police will protect me on my wife, so I choose to take on that responsibility myself.

If you feel otherwise, that's certainly your choice. I have no qualms with that...

We forgot to remove a battery in an extra smoke detector that we had in the garage and then totally forgot the fact that we actually had the extra. More than two years later we started having a strange annoying, intermittent beep. After more than a few weeks we discovered the extra in it's box that was pushed way behind other stuff and finally removed the errant battery! This getting old is for the birds!!!

That stat does not include the use of guns that were never fired...

Per the FBI, guns were used in 800K-2 MILLION times/year when not a single shot was fired...

I would not leave the door unlock but you are correct. For my house it would take you an extra second to break the window in the door and reach in to unlock. I have seen key boxes you put a door key in and the emergency personnel can open to get the key to your home. Similar to what Realtors use for showing a home. Check your local county to see if they do it. A compromise might be a digital lock or a lock you can operate over wifi from you phone.

If you can accomplish all those outlined steps you most likely don’t require an emergency responder.

Yup, we got those and plugged a couple into every room. Works great costs almost nothing.

And for dog/per owners, don't forget the stickers on the front windows/doors that let people/rescuers know there are pets there. Both for the pets sake and for the EMTs. We have a 100 lb Great Pyrenees - not something the EMT wants to walk into unexpectedly.

Good point, I wonder if there is any way to determine what difference in outcomes would have been if guns were not available.

Sadly (IMHO) with 300 million guns in circulation they are not going away, so, as I say, if you want them, go for it. I don't have to like it, but it is the law.

Same. Very helpful...

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Okay, now you're scaring me...:icon_wink::icon_wink::icon_wink:

Senior assist
 

Okay, I am NOT belittling your post - honest, but I found it amusing.

First, I didn't see anything in the article that indicated why that mod would be better suited for seniors as opposed to anyone else. It appears to be a marketing piece targeting seniors that are concerned they might not know or be able to handle a handgun.

I expect training would be a good or better expenditure of money.

And second, I actually laughed out loud at the comment it makes the gun so much more comfortable to hold - I KNOW it is important, but I imagined the customer asking at the gun shop, "I need a gun to kill someone before they kill me, and it is very important that it be comfortable, in case I have to kill lots of someones."

I had a similar experience with my Goldie when I stepped out of the bathroom. Made a note to myself, next dog I have will not be the same color as the carpet.

I think they still sell Ritz dye, you could dye your Goldie fluorescent orange? LOL!

I feel for you, we have a Great Pyrenees and a big Labrador... we have considered night lights on the dogs.

I'm from NY. We never leave our front door unlocked. Paramedics can break down the door if necessary but it remains locked all the time except when I'm out front working on the yard.

The screen door can be breached VERY EASILY with a knife. Just one slit in the screen and they are in. We never lock the screen door.

i have more guns

I think the post was referring to The Villages. Absolutely, different places have different circumstances.

I am totally, 99.999%, not worried about my home being broken into. With the tightly pack thousands of homes around me, and living in a dead-end circle it would take the thieves a long time to find their way to my house and decide I looked tastier than the other hundreds of houses they passed on the way to it.

Then there is my 110 lb Great Pyrenees.

I would love to get a picture of the thief's face when they came inside our home and came face to face with him. He was raised as a guard dog and doesn't take kindly to anyone on his property. Known as gentle giants, they are very calm and easy-going - until they aren't.

15 years ago, we bought an attack dachshund, assuming the robber will bend over to make attack easier.

lol!

Totally disagree with you!
Thief these days know that there are many wimps that make it easy for them to steal their property especially in a senior community, a gun is absolutely needed for personal security.

Thank you for your input, I also totally disagree with you.

I value human life more than stuff. So, the gun is not an option for me.

Also, I assume you were not calling ME a wimp. My DI from Paris Island might disagree with you on that count.

AARP Homefit Guide
 

I downloaded this guide from AARP for some ideas:
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aar...gles-12320.pdf

A slip-resistant floor for the shower would be very important. Some furniture or even bathroom sinks have VERY pointed corners on the top flat surface. That can be dangerous in case of a hard fall. For furniture, wicker usually has rounded corners. Rugs in a bathroom are soft to walk on, but can slip causing a bad fall. One of the worst injuries that an older person can suffer is breaking a hip. Then they refuse to walk and then pneumonia KILLS them. So strangely, we would live longer as a statistical group if we always wore a pair of football hip protectors. Lots of ways to answer that proposed question.

Good point about the shower. Ours was very non-slip for a year, but lately, it seems to feel a little more slippery. I need to talk to the house cleaners about what they are using in it.