Susan Sarandon’s New Role: Aging-in-Place Spokeswoman

Campaigns to raise awareness of various senior care-related causes have attracted a fair share of celebrity spokespeople. Now, the push to help older adults age in place has a new, yet familiar face in Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon.

Sarandon, 68, last week launched the “Aging in Place” campaign with InnovAge, a non-profit senior care provider serving California, Colorado and New Mexico.

The central message of the campaign is to educate seniors and caregivers about the resources available to help aging adults live as long as possible in their homes and communities, InnovAge stated in a release last Thursday.

Sarandon, who knows first-hand the difficulties encountered when caring for a loved one, struggled to find the best services for her 92-year-old mother, Lenora.

“Finding the right living situation, support, and social opportunities for my mother has not been easy, even when there’s been family nearby,” Sarandon said in a written statement. “That’s why organizations like InnovAge are so meaningful and important. The ability to access a range of services, to be flexible and have people available to you who understand the daily challenges you face, helps provide peace of mind for everyone involved.”

As part of the campaign, InnovAge’s “Aging in Place” website provides tips on caring for the elderly, webisodes hosted by Sarandon, a personal assessment to evaluate needs and an opportunity for caregivers to tell their own stories.

Seniors featured in the webisodes discuss their struggles to remain at home and share how they found solutions to keep them healthy and independent, while also reducing pressures on their caregiver.

Sarandon is the latest celebrity to take aim at the senior care space.

Earlier this year, Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) in February launched a campaign featuring celebrities including Rob Lowe, Maria Shriver and Maggie Gyllenhaal to have “The Talk” about long-term care planning with aging parents.

The comedic husband-wife duo of Seth and Lauren Rogen (née Miller) continue to make strides with their Hilarity for Charity movement that seeks to inspire change and raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease among the millennial generation.

Money raised through the movement is donated to support research grants focused on early-onset and detection of Alzheimer’s, as well as various support and awareness groups focused on the ailment. Hilarity for Charity also partners with Home Instead Senior Care, a home care franchise serving families across the U.S. and Canada.

Even senior living has nabbed its share of celeb spokeswomen, including former Good Morning America co-host Joan Lunden who campaigns for the online senior living referral source A Place for Mom; and tennis legend Billie Jean King, who has been the Active Aging Ambassador for Atria Senior Living, one of the largest for-profit senior living providers in the U.S.

Watch Susan Sarandon tell her experiences with aging and independence as they relate to her “Mom’s Story.”

Written by Jason Oliva