(NPR) – Gerhardt started and runs a network called Navigating Solo, which offers support and community to this group of older adults, often referred to as “solo agers.”

“Instead of looking at the concept of solo aging as something that’s a crisis to be solved — it’s not a crisis to be solved,” she says. “It’s a reality to be supported.”

That reality is growing as Baby Boomers and Gen Xers age. According to a 2023 AARP report, one in ten adults over age 50 lives alone and doesn’t have a partner or children. Different lifestyles and changing societal attitudes suggest these numbers will grow in the future. Plenty of people are single by choice. (Read More)