Housing the Elderly

American society is facing some very tough decisions concerning housing for the elderly--decisions that will be both financially and socially costly to all Americans if they are delayed too long. Given the current trends and present programs, the demand for elderly housing is going to far outstrip the supply within the next 15 years. There simply will not be enough roofs to cover appropriately the heads of the elderly. The solutions to the elderly housing crunch are complex and tangled in the political maze of American social and economic policies. Housing demand--the numbers alone--is a significant problem. However, the situation becomes more complex when the demand is coupled with concerns about housing availability, appropriateness, and affordability. This book examines the problem of housing the elderly, first looking at the demand for housing and then examining the housing supply or alternatives available to the elderly. The abilities of the elderly to help themselves by influencing public policy and obtaining the housing and assistance they need are discussed next, followed by an analysis of the current programs and the emerging trends and proposals. Finally, the elderly housing situation is summarized, and pending congressional legislation is examined in an effort to sort out some recent thinking on this problem. Three common threads run through the articles: The elderly should be encouraged to live independently for as long as possible; they must have a wide range of housing options; and, there must be closer coordination between elderly housing and the services the elderly need.