It Can Take Years for Senior Care Recipients to Receive Subsidized Housing

It is hard to think about a more tough conversation than the one I recently had with my father about his plans for his old age. And regrettably they weren’t very good – basically he has no strategy and is faced with some challenging prospects. You can find too many folks in his situation; low income individuals who have to keep working a good deal just to keep going. Restricted funds as well as a more restricted insurance had lead to him neglecting his well being. Due to a current well being crisis, he was informed that his future ability to work will be shorter than anticipated.

What can he do? He will most likely require a caregiver of some sort to help him within the not too distant future. We began seeking possibilities for housing. By far his greatest expense is and will continue to be housing. If he can minimize that expense, he will have a lot more possibilities. Nonetheless, he desires to remain independant in his own residence for as long as achievable. I began researching the possibilities. His greatest option seems to be government subsidized housing.

Government and states supply numerous programs to subsidize senior housing, but demand exceeds availability. As just one example, the city of Reading, Pennsylvania has as many as 1500 households in the waiting list for their available programs, and the majority of those on the waiting list are age 50 or older. In a lot of ways, these programs might not satisfy my father’s needs soon enough.

And Dad is not the only senior facing this challenge. As the population ages (by some estimates, inside the USA, the over 65 population will increase from 13% in 2010 to almost 20% by 2030) and also the economy fails to get back on its feet, there has been absolutely nothing but an increase in the requirement for senior subsidized housing. According to the AARP and their 2011 study, as many as 98% of seniors with low incomes could be referred to as “burdened” by the cost of their housing (“burdened” means that housing expenses are at least 30% of their income).

And this can be particularly burdensome to a senior with wellness issues. Sometimes the housing burden is heavy enough that it becomes too challenging for seniors to obtain the medical support that they may possibly need (including, but not restricted to, a caregiver at home for aid with important tasks, high-priced prescriptions, and all of the other burdens of senior healthcare).

It really is likely that I will become one of my father’s caregivers, and it’s my job to do what I can to help him reduce his living expenditures to ensure that he will be in a position to afford any other support that he may possibly need as time goes on. What can be done, regardless of the over-demand of the subsidized housing programs? Here are some steps we’re taking.

Research the Choices
There are a lot of potential options for subsidized housing. It really is best to be familiar with the requirements and benefits of as many of them as possible. He needs to also learn about the specifics of his area – are there any options that are distinct to his location? Use the net for your research first. Expand your research into the offline world by calling neighborhood HUD offices or other nearby housing authorities so that the applications and any extra details can be gathered.

Apply Early
While it is true that subsidized housing isn’t yet a necessity (at this time, he can cover his rent; but he may not have the ability to once he is forced to cut back his work schedule), there is a strong possibility that he will need to have it within a year’s time. Right now, he meets all of the requirements for the better subsidized housing programs. Consequently, he is applying now to ensure that he can be higher on the waiting list when the requirement becomes far more essential. With any luck, he wil have the subsidized housing he requires before it truly becomes a problem.

For my dad and other elderly facing the challenge of aging on a low income, they ought to be proactive and make a plan early. Otherwise, they may struggle for years while they wait for support. You just can’t wait for things when you’re talking about senior care.

It takes plenty of planning to make sure that senior care is handled appropriately. Subsidized housing for seniors undoubtedly is not an exception. It is imperative that you simply do as much investigation as it is possible to. Nonetheless, even research is no subsititute for the one factor that really had to take place: a really early application.