1,700 people on waiting list for new affordable senior housing shows the need for more

Catholic Review ^ | Maria Wiering

[Welchie25]

Naomi Phillips, 85, sat in the shade outside Village Crossroads II watching the community’s formal dedication May 19. She moved to the new Catholic Charities affordable senior housing community in March after living most of her adult life in Latrobe Homes, subsidized city housing in East Baltimore.

Village Crossroads, she said, is “real nice” and reminds her of her childhood home in North Carolina.

“I love it because I was born in the country,” she said. “There’s nice country air and peace and quiet.”

The 180-unit community includes two buildings, Village Crossroads I and II, near the intersection of Belair Road and I-695. They were funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Village Crossroads I also received state funding.

All of Village Crossroads’ apartments are occupied. More than 1,700 people are on the waiting list, said William J. McCarthy, Catholic Charities executive director.

“The numbers show the need of senior housing throughout Maryland,” he said.

Despite that need, Catholic Charities does not have new affordable senior housing projects planned, said Dale McArdle, Catholic Charities senior communities’ division director who oversaw the project.

The Section 202 HUD funding that has supported Catholic Charities’ affordable senior housing construction and operation has not been available since the agency’s fiscal year 2011.

[Vinylly]

We had a discussion at our church about affordable senior housing. It’s a real problem in Seattle as well with several thousand waiting to get into any senior housing. It’s going to get a lot worse.

[DManA]

Only in socialism do people hope for others to die so you can take their benefits, and see births as nothing but a new burden.

[Balding_Eagle]

The Catholic Church is the worlds largest landowner.

The solution should be found in there somewhere.

[Buckeye McFrog]

In Pittsburgh the Catholic Church has been getting out of the school business, and those old schools have been getting renovated into senior housing. Some of them quite nice.

[sheana]

Same where I live. We have very little senior housing and a lot of what is here is in a part of town that you absolutely would not want to live in. We have 1 huge complex that is so so but their waiting list is 5 yrs. That is what we were told after my dad passed and we tried to get my mom in there.

[grania]

I've given it a lot of thought. Over-55 retirement villages can be quite a scam, with mortgages plus condo fees and improvement levies. Besides that, many are built so that one needs a car, and no one can be sure how long their driving skills will last. Many of them have good amenities, others over build and they become inadequate. Extreme climate and weather events, declining areas, and no easy access to shopping, entertainment, doctors, public transportation etc have made some areas that used to be fine much less so.

Most people I know have found a good situation for themselves, but it takes effort to do so. For many, the solution is to do nothing, and stay put with their familiar neighborbood, and vacationing when they get the urge.

[dfwgator]

I have an idea, move in with their kids....Why should I pay for them?

[Alex Murphy]

....Catholic Charities does not have new affordable senior housing projects planned, said Dale McArdle, Catholic Charities senior communities’ division director who oversaw the project. The Section 202 HUD funding that has supported Catholic Charities’ affordable senior housing construction and operation has not been available since the agency’s fiscal year 2011.

IOW, if it's not government funded, it's not happening.

[GraceG]

Technology could make their lives better once we have it..

http://theinfosphere.org/Near-Death_Star

[rockinqsranch]

This caught my eye. I admit I did not read the entire article, but still the way it starts out: “Naomi Phillips, 85, sat in the shade outside Village Crossroads II watching the community’s formal dedication May 19. She moved to the new Catholic Charities affordable senior housing community in March after living most of her adult life in Latrobe Homes, subsidized city housing in East Baltimore.”

It says to me she has lived on the dole her entire life, and that’s all she knows, so WE NEED to build more such “affordable housing” just for people like her accustomed to living on the dole.

I don’t think so.

[Sherman Logan]

The Catholic Church is the worlds largest landowner.

Would appreciate some documentation for this claim.

Also, does it mean value of the land, or acreage?

If value of the land, much of it is in large churches in major cities, something not exactly easy to convert into cash.

[Vermont Lt]

Yeah, 21 years ago our family had a discussion about senior housing. We asked our mother to live with us.

What the hell is wrong with multi generational households. Oh yeah, I forgot, old people are icky.

[Organic Panic]

WOW. Is it really a shock that people line up for free stuff? What logic. People lining up for free stuff just proves we need more free stuff to give away.

[roadcat]

It’s a real problem in Seattle as well with several thousand waiting to get into any senior housing. It’s going to get a lot worse.

Much worse. Seattle just raised the minimum wage to $15/hour. A big part of the costs in senior housing is labor. Costs will be passed on to whoever is paying to be a resident.

[Balding_Eagle]

I’m not sure I can provide documentation. I did read that earlier in an article about land ownership earlier this year, and the article itself did provide information to back up that claim.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Maryland “Freak State” PING!