Housing Solutions for the Elderly

Disorientated, tired and desperate, an elderly woman looks about for assistance. Her eyes settle on a tall, young girl who is walking towards her. She intercepts the girl and asks her if she has any spare change. The girl, startled, looks down and shakes her head. She mumbles something under her breath and rejoins the steady stream of people who fill the sidewalk. The woman sighs and begins to walk slowly towards the bus stop. She does not have enough money to get back to her cramped and crumbling apartment building...

With the expansion of the senior population, communities are pressured to acknowledge the need for more accessible and affordable housing for the elderly. In order to avoid situations like the one above, developers, urban planners, and concerned citizens are attempting to reshape their communities so that they reflect the needs of the changing populace. Some of these changes include building integrated family housing, affordable housing, assisted living housing, and public awareness.

The Internet is an excellent source for current information on housing solutions for the elderly. In fact, there is a great deal of information on both affordable housing and housing that is designed specifically for those who may be physically challenged. Although this subject area is young, it has great appeal to those that wish to continue to live independently as seniors.

Aging-In-Place harnesses this notion of independent living for the elderly and uses it to develop ways of planning communities that can prolong an individual's autonomy. The Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University provides on-line publications that address this concept and others. The Seniors' Housing Update, a publication of the research centre, has a number of articles that explore everything from how to modify a house for the physically challenged to senior abuse by apartment managers.

Affordable housing for seniors is a large portion of the seniors housing issue since many elderly persons face a reduced income. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation possesses a number of resources including a page on Housing Seniors and People With Disabilities . Here, you can purchase important documents on this subject area or simply browse. This site is for those that have a serious interest in the seniors housing issue in Canada. In Alberta the Department of Housing and Consumer Affairsprovides a web site where visitors simply select the community that interests them to obtain detailed contact information on affordable housing. In the United States, Senior-INETprovides important information on what types of housing is available for seniors, articles that explore housing issues for the elderly and a small city directory that provides contact information to senior housing assistance offices. This site is part of the Senior Information Network which provides a variety of information for the elderly.