Using Senior Housing As a Vaccine
“We can build resilient, inclusive, age-friendly communities … by viewing housing not just as shelter, but as a vaccine that boosts the health of its residents and immunizes them against illness that too often results in medically unnecessary trips to a hospital.” That’s the basic message of a recent blog in Banker & Tradesman by Chrystal Kornegay, executive director of MassHousing, an independent, quasi-public agency charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts.
Helping At-Risk Homeowners Stay Put
A SHELTERFORCE magazine article entitled “Helping At-Risk Homeowners Stay Put With a Land Trust,” recently shed light on the plight of older homeowners with low and moderate incomes who are at risk of losing their home due to a medical crisis, divorce, or unexpected repair costs. “There are big subgroups of folks who are housing poor or housing burdened,” LTSS Center Co-Director Robyn Stone told the magazine. “I don’t want to be too dramatic, but we could see the day when large swaths of elderly people literally have nowhere to go. Where is the investment for this going to come from?”
A Turning Point in Medicare Policy
The SCAN Foundation-funded report from Anne Tumlinson Innovations and the Long-Term Quality Alliance outlines guiding principles identified by a working group that included Marc Cohen, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center at UMass Boston.
Can this co-living experiment make housing affordable for middle-class seniors?
Marc Cohen, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, said the Garden Spot Village pilot program is appealing because it combats isolation, likely will make residents feel safer, and allows residents to split costs.