How ‘Solo-Agers’ Are Changing Senior Living: Practical Steps Providers Use to Reach Adults Without Family Caregivers

Providers named in the piece — Agemark Senior Living, GardenSpot Communities, United Church Homes and 2Life Communities — are adapting in three practical areas: outreach and intake, move-in and transition services, and in-community social programming.

• Outreach and intake: Staff focus on listening to each person's story, documenting their current support network, goals and lifestyle preferences, and explicitly asking if they lack family or caregivers. GardenSpot's consultative move-in process and United Church Homes' one-on-one service coordinator meetings are examples. Identifying a prospect as a solo-ager early gives staff time to align services and expectations.

• Move-in and transition support: At Kingston Bay, Agemark staff help solo-agers manage downsizing, furnishing and logistical aspects of the move, which eases an emotionally difficult change. Agemark also uses an internal Community Support Guide to refer residents to outside services such as legal planning, fiduciary services, Medicare help, conservatorships, advocacy and care coordination.

• Social connection and programming: Providers treat social integration as a central service for solo-agers. Staff make personal introductions, invite new residents directly to activities, and match people by hobbies and talents. GardenSpot created a new resident navigator role that asks about talents and skills to connect residents with interest groups. United Church Homes runs an Abundant Living Club to connect residents without large support networks through curated gatherings.

Arturo Correa, Agemark's executive director in Fresno, says staff "aim to learn who the person is, what they enjoy and who they might naturally connect with." That can be as simple as seating two compatible people together at lunch or personally inviting someone to a program.

GardenSpot CEO Steve Lindsey frames many solo-agers as planners who want to "chart the course" of their senior living journey. The operator's cooperative living model creates lower-cost options filled with solo-agers who share household life and build new social networks. The cooperative homes are full and have waiting lists.

United Church Homes' service coordinators are part of a NaviGuide program that helps explain the next chapter of life, bridges healthcare and lifestyle needs, and orchestrates social engagement as a catalyst for successful transitions. COO Terry Spitznagel calls the service coordinator role "a game-changer for folks without traditional support networks."

What this means for providers and prospects

Reaching solo-agers requires deliberate, person-centered intake and a staffing model that supports one-on-one transition work. It also requires programming and housing options that allow solo-agers to afford community living while quickly forming social bonds. For solo-agers, the message providers use is clear: communities can offer both practical move assistance and a structured path to new social ties.

Operators that build dedicated navigator roles, formal referral pathways to outside legal and care services, and interest-matching systems are more likely to convert interest into moves and to help residents maintain independence as needs change.