Housing

The Community Living Initiative is an effort to give people with disabilities and older adults greater opportunities to live in their communities and achieve their goals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified several issues and challenges in the development and refinement of new strategies to support and promote community living. HHS held four Listening Sessions around the country with state & local officials, consumers, service providers, and advocates.

The blog for Vi Living, a provider of various care level housing for seniors, is an excellent source of information from aging experts, government agencies, non-profit groups, in-house leaders, and others. Its a great resource for anyone interested in finding senior housing. Explore this website to find all of the information that you need in one stop.

In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This historic piece of legislation presents significant opportunities to improve access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. This is particularly true for homeless people and people at risk of homelessness, whose options for accessing physical and behavioral health care services, health promotion services, and chronic disease management programs have historically been limited.

Reverse mortgages offer older homeowners a way to tap home equity to meet financial needs in retirement. However, the collapse of the mortgage market in 2008–2009 has led to major changes that impact consumer choices. While consumers have more product choices, reverse mortgages are generally more expensive and more complicated. Learn more about how this has affected aging consumers and what Congress and regulatory agencies are doing to protect consumers here.

In July 2010, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured surveyed states about the current status of their Money Follows the Person (MFP) program including trends in enrollment, services and per capita spending. Explore the report for information on the findings regarding information on transitions back to the community, the average monthly cost of transitioning a MFP participant to the community, obstacles to transition, and more.

How does North Dakota ensure that all individuals have access to a decent, safe, affordable, and accessible place to live? Navigate the attachments to learn more about their Housing Alliance program, a statewide organization of individuals and housing and client service professionals, working to identify and address unmet housing needs in the state. Attached is their website and other outreach materials.

As of September 2010, Benefits Enrollment Centers have submitted over 125,000 applications for a variety of public benefits including the Medicare Part D Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), the Medicare Savings Programs, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP - formerly known as Food Stamps), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, among others. To learn more about these efforts, outcomes, and lessons learned please see the attached report.

AoA's website now provides easy access to key resources for Aging Network providers working with HECM borrowers. As of 2011, HECM mortgagees who are delinquent in property cost payments will receive a letter from their lender regarding payment of these costs. Many of these older mortgagees can turn to the Aging Network for assistance. Resources available on the web page include background information, summary information, and an FAQ that may be used with consumers.

America's rural communities contain the nation's highest concentrations of older people. Learn about the results of a 13-year, $13-million national program created in 1992 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NCB Capital Impact to develop affordable assisted living models, with a focus on smaller and rural communities and low-income seniors. Learn about the strategy, program design, implementation, results and lessons learned.

States play among the most critical roles in responding to and ameliorating disability unemployment. Find examples of state policy related to disabilities, a selection of state programs and initiatives, descriptions of select federal policy, and primary source documents. Topics covered include housing, employment, community integration, long-term care, health, disability awareness and benefits counseling.