Presenting the results of the American Housing Survey, a new report describes the housing challenges presented by the increasing senior population and strategies for facing these challenges, including expanding affordable housing choices for older adults.
The report, created by the non-profit Center for Housing Policy, states that many of the senior housing challenges we are facing now, will be exacerbated in the coming years. The report predicts that as the population ages more people will be living with a disability and will not have access to affordable housing options. Currently 64 percent of households, in which the oldest member is 85 or older, contain a person with a disability. Poorer households are more likely to be affected by a disability and less likely to have the funds to move into assisted living or retrofit their homes to accommodate the disability. If this percentage remains stable, a larger number of seniors will be without adequate support.
The report points out that even seniors without a disability are likely living in an inappropriate setting. “Even if in good physical condition, many housing units may be neither safe nor suitable for older adults,” reads the report. “Hazardous bathrooms, steep staircases, narrow halls and doorways, and dated electrical systems may pose hazards to those with difficulty getting around, even among units otherwise deemed ‘adequate’ in the American Housing Survey.” In fact, each year one in three adults aged 65 or older falls and more than half of these falls occur at home.
Currently, 7 percent of Medicare beneficiaries over the age of 85 live in community housing with supportive services, like assisted living. 15 percent of seniors in the same age group live in a nursing home or other long-term care facility, and 78 percent live in a traditional community. The authors of the report advocate that more supportive housing options and programs to help make options affordable to all seniors will be needed to meet the rising demand over the coming years. The report also urges that the Home and Community-Based Services Medicaid waiver program be expanded and other programs be implemented to help low income seniors have access to safe and affordable housing.
Read the full report: Housing an Aging Population, Are We Prepared?
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