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She loves spending her afternoons on the back deck of her Sea Pines Plantation home where she watches the marsh or hosts evening cocktail parties for friends.
At 81, the former Vogue model still has bright blue eyes and sandy-blonde hair, but she's not as mobile as she once was. She's recovering from knee replacement surgery and must use a walker. That could have meant an end to the independence she treasures so much.
But thanks to a new program called Safe Harbour, Ericson can continue to live the life she loves. The program,formed with the help of Beaufort County's Coalition for Aging in Place, creates a "village concept" in which neighbors lend a hand with chores such as cleaning the house or putting the deck furniture outside every spring -- tasks Ericson wouldn't be able to complete on her own. Other help comes in the form of grocery shopping, walking the dog or home repair. Vendors would offer some services -- landscaping or plumbing for example -- at discounted prices.
The program allows seniors to stay at home instead of moving into an assisted living facility, said Lynn Mulkey, chairwoman of the aging coalition and a professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. Such "villages" exist in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C., she said.
Fred Leyda, the county's human services facilitator, said a similar network is also in the works in northern Beaufort County for grandparents raising grandchildren. There, seniors have transportation and baby-sitting needs.
Safe Harbour allows seniors to age at home, said Emily Newman, a Sea Pines resident who is helping coordinate services locally and working on attaining nonprofit status.
Newman said about 80 island residents have indicated they would like to become members.
Seniors would be asked to pay yearly dues. Prices have not been set but would likely be $500 per person or $750 per couple, Newman said.
Ericson said she and many of her friends would gladly pay to be a part of the network.
"Home means so much to me," she said, referring to mementos from her marriage and oil paintings by her late husband that hang on the wall. "It's who I am."
