The case for affordable senior housing, and lots more of it, isn’t hard to make. The 2015 Urban Institute publication, Housing Costs and Financial Challenges for the Low-Income Older Adult, is just one sobering summary of the crisis of affordable housing as it exists today and into the future, when it will be worse.
Consider the implications of the worker surveys performed by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which typically show that clear majorities of workers have less than $25,000 in savings and investments that could be used for retirement.
LeadingAge members have personal experience of the challenges facing low- and moderate-income seniors and, as we would expect, are taking steps to help. The LeadingAge Center for Housing Plus Services (which is a goldmine of research and case studies) was founded on the belief that service-enriched housing models, such as those being tested by our members, will be an invaluable part of the future of aging services. See the Center’s recently released study, Affordable Senior Housing Plus Services: What’s the Value?, which was funded by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and conducted in partnership with The Lewin Group.
This issue focuses on affordable senior housing, looking at a few issues providers grapple with: programming, boosting resident engagement, supporting staff and more. To try and cover the full range of challenges housing providers face would take more than one issue, one reason why you’ll see us coming back to more housing topics as the year proceeds.
For now, we launch a new year, and start with statements of purpose from two LeadingAge leaders: Kathryn Roberts, LeadingAge chair, spells out her priorities in “Pushing Beyond Our Comfort Zone: a Conversation With LeadingAge Chair Kathryn Roberts.” And President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan states her commitment to members and our field in “Facing Unparalleled Challenges, Seizing Unparalleled Opportunities.”
As providers experiment with partnership-driven service mixes for senior housing residents, collecting data and converting the findings into programming is an ongoing challenge. Read “After the Assessment: Turning Information Into Programming in Senior Housing,” for examples.
For all the benefits of housing + services models, there are still many senior housing residents for whom isolation is a risk. (The dangers of this were addressed in an article from our November/December issue, "Is 'Aging in Place' the Answer?") One of the most promising solutions to this problem lies in technology. See “Technology Reduces Social Isolation in Senior Housing” for some examples of both new and not-so-new technologies helping to keep seniors engaged.
Innovations in services for senior housing residents almost always involve the invaluable work of service coordinators. See “Supporting Service Coordinators” to learn how some organizations are giving these staff the training and support they need.
“Memory Support for Senior Housing Residents” looks at how some members are dealing with the difficulties of service residents in cognitive decline, keeping these residents independent as long as possible.
Environmentally friendly technologies and products are helping affordable housing providers to “green” their properties and save money to boot. See “Buildings Old and New Go Green With Cost Savings” for some interesting examples.
“Accomplished, Creative and Generous Souls: These Are the People We Serve” is our latest collection of member-written stories about the people they serve and employ. Remember, we are always on the lookout for such stories, so be sure to tell us about your remarkable residents, clients, staff or volunteers.
In our Partnerships Department, “Partnerships Create Senior Housing, Build Intergenerational Fun,” we tell the story of two members who repurposed a grand old building as affordable senior housing, and the story of a simple intergenerational program that has benefited children and seniors alike for almost two decades. We are always looking for new stories of members—on any scale—that use partnerships of all kinds to be of greater service.