What Happens when Seniors Need Housing?

What happens when a senior needs housing? What are their options and where do they start in their search? These are questions that many seniors as well as their family members find themselves faced with. Many seniors have their own houses but either need assistance in their day to day routines or maybe they just cannot afford the rising taxes and need to find something more affordable. For many, finances can be a stumbling block, therefore the housing issues arise.

Some seniors and their family members do not know the first step in finding adequate housing. The County Agency on Aging is a great place to start in the search for housing. These agencies are there for other reasons as well. They are there to help strengthen family life, assist the aging in maintaining their independence and self care and to protect seniors from abuse and neglect.

There are three options for seniors, depending on their financial situations. The first option is low income housing. This is an option for the seniors that do not have money to be able to afford their own apartment or house. Many of these seniors only have their social security as their income, which is not enough to be able to afford even the lowest priced one bedroom apartment in many counties. Low income housing is a serious problem in many places. There just aren't enough of these housing units. Many of these housing communities have a waiting list, a very long waiting list. A few have a three to four year waiting list. There are a few new low income housing units being built but they fill up even before they are ready to open and thus the waiting list starts.

Another option for seniors is a nursing home. Nursing homes cater to the seniors that need daily help and to seniors that have health problems. In a nursing home setting, there are 24 hour staff on duty to help with anything the seniors need. Seniors that go into a nursing home often cannot live on their own and need the assistance and constant medical care. This may not be an option for many seniors. Nursing homes generally accept Medicaid and Medicare so this may help the low income seniors with health problems.