It is axiomatic that with the passage of time, people will grow older. And they will eventually need affordable senior housing so that they could also live in peace and dignity. Apart from that, they will need access to geriatric related healthcare as well. And eventually many really old people will want a place where they will be taken care of on a long-term basis i.e. LTC or long-term care centers.

While growing up is an inevitable part of life, but nevertheless, many, if not most people may well find it really difficult to believe that there might come a time in the near future when there might not be enough places where senior citizens will be able to live. And live affordably, at that.

While the more well-off retirees may appear to be set for life. Including having unrestricted access to various amenities such as luxurious (and sometimes even resort-like accommodations) as well as five-star meals, and also be able to receive excellent healthcare services. However, for the overwhelming majority that is quite simply, not the case at all.

For the tens of millions of senior citizens with low incomes, however, the opportunities for a safe, affordable home that they can call their own are scarce indeed, what to talk about the ancillary and much needed healthcare services that need must be part of the whole package. As a matter of fact, with the passage of time, such affordable yet high-quality housing for senior is becoming increasingly scarcer, as well as difficult to obtain.

And when we pause to vector in the fact that an estimated 10,000 members of the ‘baby boomer’ post-second world war generation are reaching the age of 65 every day, then we realize that we have a veritable crisis on our hands. In fact, something needs to be done and it must be done pretty soon indeed. In fact, if we were to project these figures around four decades in the future, then we will realize that the sheer number of senior citizens over the age of 65 will more than double from the 40 million or so that it is today, all the way to a massive 88 million.

o A steadily growing problem

Almost half of these senior citizens live on very low incomes. So much so, that nearly half of the ‘poorest of the poor’elderly individuals end up spending around 50 percent of their average mean income to pay for just housing alone. In the long run, what this means that the many things that their younger counterparts take for granted, such as the ability to be able to afford a decent meal (or some necessary healthcare) all the way to go to the movies for a little bit of fun, not just difficult, but downright impossible to realize. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that they do not have many high-value assets (such as vehicles, property, gold and diamond jewelry etc.)  And the older the individual the lesser his or her assets are liable to be.

However, the government is cognizant of this problem and they are doing their level best to ensure that affordable senior housing is available to all those who need and desire the same. Some of the more common types of the senior housing include the following:

o Different types of affordable senior housing

Most forms of affordable senior housing units are available through various programs supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with the help of the federal government. Those programs are:

o Low-income Housing Tax Credit properties

As per the LIHTC program, various developers, as well as their investor counterparts, actually get tax credits for rehabbing, buying, or even outrightly building rental housing that has been intended for the poor. In fact, many such LIHTC properties are also operated as 55+ or 62+ communities, and are more colloquially known as “senior apartments.”

o Section 202 ‘Supportive Housing for the Elderly’

 Section 202 housing has been created, keeping in mind the highly specialized needs of the very poor as well as the very old, specifically the frail elderly. Such as those geriatric patients who may require assistance in day to day tasks, for instance, cleaning, cooking, and transportation.

o Public Housing

 These chiefly consist of various complexes or high-rise condos that may be operated by city or county public housing agencies. The tenants are required to pay 30 percent of their total monthly income for rent and various utility-related expenses.

o ‘Section 8’ Housing Choice Voucher Program

The’ section 8 program’ is a voucher program that has been designed to help many low-income families, disabled persons and the elderly to help pay the rent in many privately owned apartments. Here the various tenants typically pay around thirty percent of their monthly income towards rent and utilities, and the section 8 voucher will help pay the difference in case the income is not sufficient to meet the rent expense.

o Conclusion

In the light of the above, we can see that affordable senior housing is a growing concern that requires immediate attention. We at Tommy’s Team help many such senior citizens living below the poverty line, to find housing that they will be comfortable with, so that they could continue to be productive and gainful members of our society, as a whole. We are ever on the lookout for volunteers who will help us continue our mission to make this world a better place, especially for senior citizens. We will be honored to have you on board with us. You can join us simply by registering at http://www.tommysteam.com/..... Please.....LIKE......JOIN.....SHARE.....To Help Others.......Thanks.........