I met today with the San Mateo County, California Home Sharing Program (HSP) "HIP Housing" Director of Programs, who shared with me valuable resource and budget considerations to evaluate when implementing an HSP. I was glad to find I'd already considered most items on the list, and to hear that I'm for the most part on the right track! It's so good to have the early input of a more mature organization, thank you HIP Housing!
"It's not that you feel like you don't have anybody, it's that you feel like nobody has you."
“Recommendations include guidance related to housing supply, housing mix, housing affordability, senior and accessible housing needs, and Fairfax as a Place.” ...read the report at @FairfaxCity.
Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church contributes to the solutions for safe, affordable and thriving communities for our neighbors in need. In FY2023 their volunteers gave 6,924 hours to help complete 117 projects; assisted 181 people living in 110 homes, and donated labor valued at $356,134. 85% of the households helped qualify as Very Low or Extremely Low income and could never afford these vital repairs and modifications on their own.
I waited too long to coordinate for this year, we'll go next year!
"The number of 65-and-over residents who are considered cost-burdened reached record highs in 2021, while federal housing subsidies only reached 36.5% of older households who were eligible. Though the majority of older adults are homeowners, many are still paying off mortgages into old age, and there’s a growing share of renters in their 50s and early 60s. Long-term care expenses, both in-home and at facilities, are out of reach in many cities. Homelessness among older adults rose during the pandemic. And much of the US housing stock is itself aging, in need of upgrades and features for people to age in place safely." ...read the rest @Bloomberg.
Maybe by December 2024 we’ll have a boating connection (volunteers?), we want to do this from the water!
"The US population 65 and over soared by 34 percent in the last decade, from 43 million in 2012 to 58 million in 2022. In the coming decade, the fastest growth will occur among those over 80, when people are more likely to need accessible housing as well as services and supports at home. The US, however, is not ready to provide housing and care for this surging population, according to a new report released today by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies." ...read the rest at @JCHS of Harvard University.
"Many older adults have to consider the cost and availability of care when deciding where to live, especially as they age. This dual burden highlights the inextricable link between housing and assistance and is a major driver of older adults’ housing choices. As the population ages and as housing and care costs increase, more older adults will struggle to afford either the home of their choice or the care they need, and in many cases, both. With subsidies for housing and LTC services so scarce, an increasing number of older adults with very low incomes will have to forgo needed care or rely on family and friends for assistance, loved ones who will almost certainly bear their own financial and emotional costs in turn. Many households with moderate incomes will also face the challenge of affording both housing and LTC services, particularly renters and homeowners with housing debt. Innovations in the housing and care sectors are a start, but there is tremendous need for creative alternatives to existing models."
We can’t claim any success stories yet — but we do have some potential cases in mind! I’m surrounded by under-occupied SFHs, with rental interest from a variety of situations. Stay tuned as the cases mature into our first success stories!
"By 2035, the U.S. will have more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18, a first in the nation’s history. Recent census data suggests that the U.S. is short of aging-ready homes, with just 40% of the country’s housing considered accessible enough to meet the basic needs of older adults." ...read the rest at @Stateline.
Elderlink provides affordable care management to older adults in Northern Virginia. Care managers work with you and your family to find the best plan to ensure safe and affordable independence. Call 703-324-5374, TTY 711 for a consultation and appointment. Elderlink services include:
Sometimes we need to build a 2nd Family. Sometimes our first families just live too far away. Some families stopped growing, with no siblings, and no children, it’s literally the end of the line. Some families are too consumed by their own immediate circumstances, challenges, and obligations to have much bandwidth for others. Some families are just unknowing, unempathetic, and unhelpful. Some families are emotionally distant, or unhealthy, or estranged, or toxic.
Many people are alone most of the time. Some people are alone all of the time. That’s not good. I am not okay with involuntary loneliness.
Today I registered the 2nd-Family.org domain — tomorrow we start growing cases into success stories!
"We" is just me for now, plus one ocd/organizer volunteer/friend, we are a home based, sole proprietorship dba, serving by worth of mouth, to be licensed in the historic City of Fairfax, Virginia.
Home Prices and Rents Remain High, as Steep Interest Rates
Lock Homeowners in Place and Slow Construction
"The sharp interest rate hikes over the past year continue to impact housing markets and affordability for both homeowners and renters across the US, according to a new report released today. Rising mortgage costs have pushed homeownership out of reach for millions of renters at a time when large numbers of millennial households are at prime homebuying ages and when homeownership disparities between white households and those of color are near historic highs. Higher interest rates have also sparked a slowdown in the construction of new single-family homes, even as a nationwide housing shortage contributes to high housing costs."...read the rest @JCHS of Harvard University.
"US housing markets continue to cool as higher costs weigh on both homeowners and renters. On the for-sale side, home sales and construction levels have declined while rental markets are experiencing sharply reduced rent growth and rising vacancy rates. Nevertheless, home prices and rents remain elevated from pre-pandemic levels, leaving millions —including a disproportionate share of people of color—struggling with housing cost burdens, priced out of homeownership, or without shelter at all." ...read the report at @JCHS of Harvard University.
"SHAPE the Future of Aging is a strategic plan to make Fairfax County a better place to age, for older adults to live safely, independently, and with dignity. SHAPE is an acronym that includes five areas of focus:
"The SHAPE the Future of Aging plan is aligned with the Fairfax County Strategic Plan and OneFairfax to address the needs of older adults as we plan for the future. The SHAPE the Future of Aging Plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in May 2023. Initiative Development Committees focused on each of the SHAPE categories will be developed and led by the Fairfax Area Commission on Aging in the coming months." ...read the plan @FairfaxCounty.
"CFH is a 501(c)(3) organization providing affordable housing opportunities to limited-income individual and families throughout Northern Virginia. CFH provides a continuum of housing services through security deposit assistance, rental assistance, rental homes and first-time homebuyer opportunities."
Join Village members and volunteers on Friday, March 31 to consider the challenges of your current living situation, learn how to adapt for safe and successful aging, and meet local agencies and providers who can help us do just that — or find desirable alternatives. The free expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 31 at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center.
Talks
Welcome Remarks - Fairfax City Mayor Catherine Read | Connect and Stay Healthy - Orlene Grant, President and CEO of the Juanita C. Grant Foundation | Stay Strong and Flexible - Prevent Falls - Jane Summers, DPT, OCS | Safety in the Village: Fires, Strokes, and Falls - A. David Arrington, Fairfax City Fire Department | Repair and Rebuild for Safety - Patti Klein, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together, AFF. | Be a Safe and Savvy User of Technology - Anthony Nunez, CEO of INF Care - A Wellness Concierge | Creating Community and Connection through Volunteer Transportation - Emily Braley, Manager of NV Rides
Exhibitors
Andrea Bryk, Estate Planning & Administration Attorney | Dark Horse Nutrition LLC | Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church, Inc. | Insight Memory Care Center | HealthMarkets | American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - National Capital Area Chapter | AARP Virginia | Lifetime Learning Institute of Northern Virginia (LLI/NOVA) | Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home | City of Fairfax Fire Department | NV Rides | City of Fairfax Office of Emergency Management | Fairfax County Village Coordinator, Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services | INF Care | Inova Medical House Calls | ServiceSource Inc. | Honey Do Today | Long Term Care Coordinating Council – Technology, Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services | Fairfax County Department of Family Services’ Adult and Aging Division | Any Lab Test Now Fairfax | Young at Heart Senior Center | NAMI Northern Virginia | Evolve Organizing + Design | LionHeart Eldercare & Consulting
