The assisted living communities provide a great comfort and personalized care to elderly people in a residential area. They are developed for the seniors who require extra support.
The assisted living communities are available for those seniors whose wellbeing require extra care and support meaning that they can’t do certain activities on their own without any help. They are provided to the seniors after the assessment in accordance with the regulations of state. These types of communities give a healthy lifestyle to elderly individuals and help them to socially engage in the community.
Most commonly the assisted living communities offer medical management and they also provide assistance to the elders in providing help to them in using the bathroom and also helping them in dressing plus grooming. The also provide housekeeping services such as meals and laundry. They also provide transport services to elders. They offer a staff which is 24/7 available for care. The residents of such communities are asked to bring their own furniture so that they can feel just like home in their new place.
The senior people who wish to be the residents of such assisted senior living communities should get a service plan which is individualized according to their personal needs. There are certain communities which can provide memory care to senior individuals which is licensed. They may also provide such foods and menus which suit the nutritional needs of elderly people. [i]
Senior living community is just not a helping hand instead it is a lot more than that it provides various benefits to senior people. It can help senior citizens to have a better quality of life. They are good opportunity for elders who need a helping hand to make their life easier and comfortable.
Low Income Senior Housing Communities
There are many seniors who are not financially very ready for the retirement plan as much they want themselves to be. There are many housing programs for seniors which are sponsored by Housing and Urban Development they are always there who are in need of houses which meet their requirements. They create affordable senior housing schemes for senior citizens all across the country. They have different funding programs for assistance in paying rents. Helping the elderly in getting an ownership of a house in such communities. They also provide helping services for the disabled and senior citizens.
There around “55+ communities” including the Independent living and also Assisted living communities. They offer many programs which are aided by government. These government aided programs are specifically organized to meet the requirements of the elder citizens with low income. Generally there are some income restrictions applied to these programs. The seniors applying for such programs must meet the criteria of qualification in order to get the low income senior housing assistance.
There are two very common senior housing assistance programs which include:
- Section 202 Supportive Housing for Elderly Program
- Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
Section 202 Supportive Housing for Elderly Program:
This program is best for the seniors who want to live independently but they need a little assistance and help for their daily living activities. This program is exclusively designed to provide assisted housing for seniors. They provide facilities such as housekeeping and transport aid. They also provide referral services along with the counselling services. The exact services provided vary from one housing facility to other. In this program housing and urban facility provides loans to organizations which are either profitable or non-profitable or private to do construction of housing facility for seniors. They also sometimes provide rent subsidies.
This program include houses or apartments with one bedroom with a kitchen and a bath. They are aided with features for assistance of elder people such as ramp and also grab bars to help them in giving support. They have features and facilities such as homemade meals delivered at the door step and they also provide healthcare facilities.
The senior people having low income with the age of 62 or above are eligible for section 202 program. Their average age of residents is 79. The average income o such individuals is around $10018. In order to apply for this program information can be obtained from the assisted living communities for seniors. Their wait list is usually yearlong. They give preference to the individuals who are paying 50% of their income for the rent and also to people who live in very substandard houses.
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program:
There are many LIHTC properties who are solely dedicated for senior housing. These properties are manages by organizations which might be profitable or non-profitable. This program which is a tax credit program is looked upon by IRS that is Internal Revenue Service.
They have different affordable senior living communities with each having its different criteria. Most of these criteria run around the age and the income of senior individuals. The senior citizens with the age group between 55-62 years are eligible for this program. The individuals applying for this program should have low income.
If an elderly person owns a house they can still meet the criteria for LIHTC program. The eligibility of such a person is determined on the bases that what is the income of the person and what profit might be gained through such assets. These individuals can own such assets but cannot live in them while they are on this program.
The LIHTC have a senior housing community which has apartments with either one or two bedrooms. They are not furnished usually. They are specifically built for elderly people. There are common spaces and also few community events in some of the communities.[ii]
Affordable Senior Living Communities:
There are many communities that offer affordable senior living some of them are enlisted as follows:
- Geneva House
- Hawk’s Nest
- Presbyterian Apartments
- Shrewsbury Courtyards
- Silver Spring Courtyards
- Silver Spring Gardens
- Springwood Overlook
- Stony Brook Gardens
- The Oaks
- Westminster place at Bloomsburg
- Westminster place at Parkesburg
- Wisteria Commons
Most of these have senior apartments with income limits and they offer maintenance free living.
[i] https://www.whereyoulivematters.org/assisted-living-defined/
[ii] https://www.seniorhousingnet.com/care-types/low-income-affordable-housing
