Feb. 21 (UPI) — The Biden administration has made $115 million in grant funding available to develop and improve housing for low-income seniors, officials announced Wednesday in Philadelphia.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring that our nation’s most vulnerable seniors have access to quality affordable housing,” said Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Creating these homes will enable older adults to live independently. It is important that we provide opportunities for seniors of modest means to age with grace and dignity in a supportive environment.”
Todman made the announcement against the backdrop of The Fairthorne, an affordable senior housing center in Philadelphia.
The funds will be used to assist non-profits in building new energy-efficient and affordable housing units for low-income seniors 62 years of age or older, or upgrading existing homes, also making them environmentally friendly and energy efficient. In both cases, the money will be used to support construction and other capital costs as well as provide rental assistance.
Some $35 million of the total will be dedicated to creating intergenerational homes with features to meet the needs of households headed by seniors who are raising children under the age of 18.
“These funds, allocated for both rental assistance and development costs, offer a solution to address the persistent housing needs of seniors across the nation,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon. “We are maintaining our commitment to supporting safer, healthier, more energy efficient homes that help address both the climate crisis and the housing crisis together.”
This new investment for low-income senior housing comes on a $161 million allocation to pay for grants that will help people 62 and older live independently with tailored support services, such as nutrition, transportation, education and health services.
People who qualify for those grants typically earn less than 50% of the area median income, with most households earning below 30% of the median for their area.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development made money available to 25 grantees in 14 states last October, creating nearly 1,300 new housing units for eligible seniors.
The money for senior housing is part of the Biden administration’s “Investing in America” agenda, a $5.8 billion investment in the nation’s infrastructure, which makes improvements to the nation’s roads, bridges and other parts of the infrastructure, and takes on senior housing issues.