Washington, D.C., reported in 2019 that it was home to approximately 83,600 adults ages 65 and up. A stark health disparity exists among this generation of baby boomers, however.
The life span of older, and oftentimes, white Washingtonians in neighborhoods like Georgetown and Rock Creek Park in Wards 1 and 4, is between 86 and 87 years old, according to DC Villages Collaborative (DCVC). Oppositely, the life expectancy of seniors in Wards 5, 7 and 8 — primarily Black residents — is between 71 and 72 years old.
That more than 15-year difference spawned DCVC— which works to uplift the District’s aging population— to expand its programming to Wards 5 and 7, launching three new DC Villages Collaborative Incubators in hopes of: educating seniors about aging in place, changing societal perceptions of getting older, and adding more years to residents’ lives…