The Department of Housing and Community Development is pleased to announce the opening of the 2023 Housing Choice Communities Designation application. Age-and dementia friendly community efforts that include improving housing options are encouraged to support and advocate within their cities and towns for this recognition, which provides access and priority in relevant state funding opportunities. Continue reading
Tag Archives: housing
Lessons for Enhancing Service Coordination in HUD-Assisted Senior Housing Communities
A new research brief from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston offers a wide range of lessons to help housing communities implement a service coordination model developed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in which the “role of the service coordinator has evolved to a more proactive level of coordination, engagement, outreach, assistance, and case management.” Continue reading
LeadingAge Mass. and MassPACE Launch Resource to Establish Connections Between Services and Housing
In Massachusetts, there are over 100,000 units of subsidized affordable housing targeted to older adults including public housing and privately owned assisted housing. Since many
residents of affordable senior housing may be eligible for and can benefit from PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), partnerships and collaborations between PACE Organizations and housing providers provide an excellent opportunity to further support a building’s residents. Continue reading
Coalition of Housing Advocacy Orgs Release “A Right to Rental Assistance in Massachusetts” Paper
A coalition of housing advocacy organizations, including many partners of the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, released a paper called “A Right to Rental Assistance in Massachusetts: How Policy Change Can Advance Equitable Housing.” Continue reading
Baker Administration Announcement of $93 Million Promotes Affordable Housing for Older Adults
The Baker Administration recently announced $93.4 million in direct funding and $33 million in state and federal housing tax credits to support the development of 790 housing units across 14 projects at an event in Haverhill. Four of those 14 projects directly mention affordable housing available to “seniors.” Continue reading
CHAPA Offering Technical Assistance for Communities to Promote Affordable Housing
Communities working to become more age- and dementia friendly can apply for a free technical assistance opportunity from Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) via the organization’s program called “Municipal Engagement Initiative Lite.”
Report on Housing and Health Equity from JCHS Shows Age-Friendly Networks Played Critical Role in Pandemic Response
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older adults faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and supportive services. In response, organizations that support older people improvised solutions to address these challenges. A new report, Advancing Housing and Health Equity for Older Adults: Pandemic Innovations and Policy Ideas, examines how these responses, most of which were intended to be temporary, might improve housing and supports for older adults and address longstanding inequities. Continue reading
AARP Announces Resource on ‘Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing’
Created by AARP Livable Communities and Opticos Design, Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing provides age- and dementia friendly communities, local leaders, building and planning professionals, and involved community members with information about what Missing Middle Housing is, where it still exists, and why it’s time for communities nationwide to return this versatile residence type to America’s housing portfolio. Continue reading
Upcoming Events in Healthy Aging
The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative encourages stakeholders and communities involved in the age- and dementia friendly movement to check out the following upcoming events: Continue reading
MHAC Contributes to Report ‘Care Work in Massachusetts: A Call for Racial and Economic Justice for a Neglected Sector’
Care work has forever been critical to the health and basic functioning of our society. With the steady aging of our population, care jobs are also among the fastest growing in our economy. A new report from Boston indicators and SkillWorks with input from the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (MHAC) discusses trends, data and policy solutions around improving the quality and conditions of care work through an equity lens. Continue reading