Housing

On March 16, ACF announced an award of $560 million to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP, following an award of $1 billion February 2023. LIHEAP provides asssistance with heating and cooling costs for low-income households. Over 6 million households received funding from the LIHEAP program during the past year, with LIHEAP funding for Fiscal Year 2023 totaling $6.1 billion.

The National Indian Council on Aging has released a toolkit dedicated to increasing awareness and knowledge of the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native persons living with disabilities. The resource is divided into sections for healthy living, education, independent living, vocational rehabilitation and employment resources, assistive technology, housing and facilities, and transportation. It includes suggestions for improving services, providing protections, and utilizing resources in local tribal communities for people with disabilities. Additional information provides overviews on federal disabilities laws, initiatives, agencies, and organizations that support work with Native individuals with disabilities and communities.

A new report from the Alliance’s Homelessness Research Institute analyzes 2018 data from the Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool to examine the different ways in which older adults exit homelessness; identify disparities in types of exits by shelter status, race, ethnicity, and gender; and recommend issues that need further research and policy attention.

Since the early ninties the Eldercare Locator has connected older adults, caregivers, families, and professionals to local services that support healthy aging at home. This new infographic illustrates the top needs of individuals who contacted the Eldercare Locator in 2021. Requests were mostly related to transportation (22%), in-home services (12%) and housing (11%).

As an Area Agency on Aging (AAA), AgeSpan engages in innovative partnerships with housing providers through the Massachusetts Supportive Housing Program. In northeastern Massachusetts, AgeSpan pursues solutions that bring together housing and supportive services. Why? Many older adults and people with disabilities not only need afordable and accessible housing, but also supportive services that enable them to be as independent as possible. Assistance with nutrition, transportation, personal care, medication management, and chore services are just a few examples of these critical services.

This Better Care Playbook profile of the SASH model is part of an ongoing series, In the Field: Spotlight on Complex Care Interventions, that is highlighting how organizations are implementing evidence-based and promising innovations to improve care for people with complex health and social needs.

The Housing and Services Resource Center was created for people who work in the space of housing resources and homelessness services, behavioral and mental health services, independent living services and other supportive services. The Center is part of a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to expand affordable housing, improve home and community-based services, and address bias in America's long-term care system.

NCLER has released a Tip Sheet providing information about federal utility assistance programs, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program, and others that can help keep older adults and individuals with serious illnesses safe and healthy.

Wellsky has published a paper detailing how proactive action by states, health systems, and communities can reduce the number of seniors experiencing homelessness. The paper discusses the following topics: why skyrocketing senior homelessness is virtually inevitable in the coming years; how health and human services in your state or community will be affected; and what actions can best help specific segments of the senior homeless population.

CFPB released a new resource for older homeowners who have a reverse mortgage loan. The guide, You have a reverse mortgage: know your rights and responsibilities, provides reverse mortgage borrowers with information on their ongoing obligations with their Home Equity Conversation Mortgage (HECM), the most common type of reverse mortgage loan. Topics include how a borrower may pay-off the loan, what happens after the borrower moves out of the home or dies, what heirs need to know, and more.