By Natasha Bryant
LeadingAge Maryland is helping affordable-housing staff recognize and respond to residents’ needs with empathy and teamwork.
Maintenance staff and property managers serve as critical frontline observers in affordable senior housing, often entering residents’ apartments more frequently than other staff and sometimes being the only people who regularly see certain residents.
Despite this role, most housing staff receive little or no specialized training to help them work with older adults.
LeadingAge Maryland developed the AgingWell Training program to address this issue. The program equips frontline housing staff with the skills to recognize and respond to residents’ needs through empathy, effective communication, and teamwork.
A recent evaluation by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston demonstrates the program’s promise for enhancing how affordable senior housing communities support their residents. Researchers conducted pre- and post-training surveys and held focus groups with housing staff.
The evaluation revealed positive trends among participants from before training began through six months after training completion. Staff who completed the training showed significant gains in knowledge, with average test scores rising from 81% to 91%. However, most of the gains were not statistically significant, possibly due to high baseline ratings and a small sample size.
Funders
The AgingWell Training grew out of a collaboration led by LeadingAge Maryland to expand access to quality, affordable housing, services, and support for older Marylanders. The Maryland Affordable Senior Housing Workgroup was initially funded by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The development, implementation, and evaluation of the training program were supported by:
- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
- The Stulman Foundation.
- The Thome AgingWell Program, which is funded by the Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation.
About the Training Program
The four-hour, in-person AgingWell Training program was piloted in 36 affordable senior housing communities across Maryland from 2023 to 2025, reaching property managers, maintenance staff, service coordinators, and other frontline workers. Since 2023, more than 150 housing staff members have completed the training. In-person sessions continue in Maryland, and work is ongoing to support expansion to other regions.
The training builds the housing staff’s foundational knowledge of aging, ageism, and person-centered care and strengthens practical skills in:
- Communication.
- Conflict management.
- Recognizing and responding to challenging behaviors and situations.
- Self-care and healthy professional boundaries.
Findings from the Surveys
The research team conducted a pre- and post-survey of property managers and maintenance staff who attended the training. Researchers found that staff experienced gains in several areas:
Knowledge: Staff significantly improved their knowledge, with average test scores increasing from 81% to 91%.
Communication: Staff were more likely to rate their communication with residents highly.
Confidence: Staff were more likely to agree or strongly agree with the following statements:
- I have a sense that my work has meaning and importance.
- I contribute to creating a better community for residents.
- I feel comfortable identifying when a resident may be at risk or experiencing difficulty.
- I understand how age-related issues affect residents.
Collaboration: The training also strengthened collaboration. After completing the program, 86% of staff reported working with service coordinators to resolve resident issues, up from 71% before the training. Staff were more likely to strongly agree that the property manager, maintenance staff, and service coordinator communicate openly and transparently and that they respect each other.
Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction was somewhat high before training and increased modestly afterward. Staff reported at baseline and post-training that they would probably continue working in their affordable housing role and would probably recommend the job to others. Post-training, there was a small, non-significant decline in the likelihood of remaining in their current role in an affordable housing setting.
Training Satisfaction: Nearly all participants (93%) reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the training’s impact on their ability to support residents’ well-being. Staff reported applying what they learned in meaningful ways:
- 92% reported working more closely with other staff, proactively managing conflict by asking questions, focusing on shared goals, and managing stress effectively.
- 88% reported initiating conversations with residents unrelated to their responsibilities; being more intentional about word choice, tone, and body language; recognizing red flags and proactively responding to changes in residents’ behavior; processing grief and loss; and setting healthy boundaries with residents.
Resident Relationships: Two-thirds (66%) of participants reported positive changes in how residents responded to them after applying training strategies; 72% felt more confident managing challenging resident behaviors; and 83% felt they could always or often maintain healthy boundaries with residents.
Findings from the Focus Groups
Focus group participants described the challenges of supporting aging residents in independent living settings. They noted the growing complexity of residents’ challenges, including cognitive decline, behavioral health needs, and physical limitations. They also reported boundary pressures from residents and families who sometimes expect services beyond the scope of independent living.
Staff valued the AgingWell Training, especially the opportunity to connect with peers and exchange perspectives. They also identified areas where they need ongoing support, such as:
- Practical stress management tools.
- Explicit guidance on maintaining professional boundaries.
- Comprehensive strategies for responding to behavioral health crises.
Participants recommended developing resources to reinforce training curricula, including short video vignettes and quick-reference handouts on de-escalation techniques, dementia recognition, boundary-setting, and self-care strategies. Staff also emphasized the need for resources to educate residents and family members. They noted that lasting change is difficult to achieve when only staff receive training.
Conclusion
The AgingWell evaluation shows that frontline housing staff can be effectively prepared to play an expanded role in supporting resident well-being. By recognizing and supporting this role, the AgingWell Training offers a promising approach to improving outcomes for staff and older adults in affordable housing.
LeadingAge and LeadingAge Maryland are working together to develop e-learning resources and modules based on the AgingWell Training program. These materials will be available at no cost to LeadingAge members and for a small fee to non-members. The materials are expected to be released in Fall 2026. For more information, contact LeadingAge Maryland.
Natasha Bryant is managing director of the Washington, DC, office of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. Her work focuses on developing, testing, and disseminating workforce improvement initiatives to attract and retain quality staff at all levels of aging services organizations.