The challenge of providing the elderly population with affordable and/or low-cost housing has been a feature of public policy debate for many years. That is because of a significant demographic shift in the population, with more than 35 million persons in the US now over age 65 (AOA, 2002). Indeed, it has been projected that by 2050, the worldwide population will have aged so significantly that the number of persons over age 60 will have outnumbered the number younger than that. This is significant because historically, younger, working-age populations have assumed responsibility for the care of the elderly. That practice is embedded into the social-welfare policies of the US, with payroll taxes funding Social Security benefits. It is significant as well because of the health and welfare needs of the elderly and because of the highly variable distribution of resources throughout the population.
Health care, food, and shelter needs of the elderly are key issue fronts that have emerged in welfare discourse in recent years. Housing presents particular challenges because issues surrounding access to adequate shelter often overlap and converge with caregiving and sustenance issues as well. For example, the Congregate Housing Services Program sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides meals and "other supportive services" to the frail elderly and to the disabled who reside in federally subsidized housing projects. It is described as "a project-based-rather than a tenant-based-program" that is meant to forestall institutionalization (HUD, 2003d).
Low-cost, affordable, and livable housing for the elderly is of particular interest because of the demographic facts of the US. The fact that the elderly may be in a position of special housing needs may be inferred from statistics compiled by the Administration on Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services. Reportedly, 80% of older persons who headed some 2...