The Way Home
Finding Your Place in the Golden Years
By Jessica Martin
Oregon Public Broadcasting

Making a home, leaving home, homecoming...there may be many places we choose to call "home" in the course of our lives, but none of these choices may be as important, or as laden with anxiety, as the place we pick to live out our "golden years." This moving documentary introduces a variety of elders who are trying to find the best possible living situation for themselves or for their loved ones:

Mel Amsberry, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, is courageously scouting out the care he will eventually need, hoping to find a place where he and his wife Lorraine will be able to remain together as long as possible. A hit-and-run accident has left Gertrude Wood unable to live on her own. After a disastrous experience with a skilled-nursing facility, her family explore the options of assisted living and residential care facilities but decide, for the time being, that Gertrude will continue living with one of her daughters. 92-year-old Ida May Davis lives in an adult foster care facility run by her daughter. This homelike environment is made possible in part by the services of a non-profit medical group which provides home care, and a volunteer group that does grocery deliveries. In rural eastern Oregon, Native American Leon Tom lives in an elder housing development, based around his tribe's values and way of life, while 81-year-old rancher Sam Dement struggles with the complexities of advance planning, as he tries to preserve his home on the range for his family.

Along the way we meet a doctor who still makes housecalls, in-home caregivers, and others who help to explain the complex and often confusing choices of medical care, legal counsel, and living facilities available. The Way Home explores the concerns, values, and options of seniors and their families who are looking for a place to call home.

56 minutes
© 2001
Purchase $199 DVD
Order No. QA-364
ISBN (DVD) 1-57295-975-4

Reviews
"A very good resource, that effectively presents the options available to elders and their families facing tough choices relating to finding the best 'golden years' care. Recommended." Video Librarian

Awards & Conference Screenings
Helen Hayes Award, Best Video for Consumers
and First Place in Geriatrics, International Health
and Medical Film Competition
Silver Award, Mature Media Awards
First Place: Aging Issues, National Council
on Family Relations Media Awards
American Society on Aging

Related Films
Growing Up and Growing Old: Who will care for the estimated 14 million people who will soon need long-term care? How will we pay for it? Meet several caregivers who are struggling daily with the problems of caring for elderly parents or clients.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: In what was supposed to be their "golden years," four million grandparents across the country are raising their children's children. This video tells some of their stories.

Sage: Celebrates the wisdom, experience, and creativity of our society's elders through portraits of a diverse group of active, engaged seniors pursuing their lifetime interests, and some new ones as well. Among those profiled is TV chef Julia Child.

Aging in America: This riveting documentary introduces us to aging athletes, activists, wranglers and strippers, and to inmates growing old in our nation's prisons. A compassionate, often surprising glimpse into the real lives of those who are reaching their "golden" years in the first part of the twenty-first century.

Gray Days: The U.S. has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of elderly men and women in state and federal prisons. This troubling documentary introduces us to two elderly prison inmates, inviting discussion of the universal issues raised by this situation.

To rent or purchase this film, please visit the Icarus Films website

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