When the economy is down, housing becomes an issue, particularly for elderly residents already living on a fixed income. For those with the means to pay, there are many assisted living complexes in Shelby County, where seniors can live independently or age in place as their healthcare needs progress over time. But for seniors on a limited income who still want to live independently and can't afford steep rents, there are fewer options.

 

"Housing affordability is, quite frankly, almost a crisis for many older Americans. It's getting worse over time," stated Elinor Ginzler, AARP's housing expert in a recent AP story. "Many low-income seniors… find themselves in a position where they can't afford a fair market rent and are closed out of waiting lists for subsidized rentals."

 

Despite long waiting lists and limited choices, there seems to be little assistance coming from the federal government. "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is building smaller facilities than they did 30 years ago," said Denny Calloway, director of housing for the Diocese of Memphis Housing Corporation, which oversees eight properties designed for low-income seniors across West Tennessee. HUD funding helped build St. Peter Manor, a 10-story high rise at the corner of Poplar and McLean in Midtown. With 281 apartments, Calloway said buildings like this one are not being built today because, "It takes more maintenance to keep up a 10-story building than it does a smaller facility. Our biggest challenge is maintaining it and keeping it a clean, affordable place to live."

 

For retirees to qualify for an apartment at St. Peter's, they must have earnings that HUD qualifies as being in the very low to extremely low income bracket, meaning close to poverty level. (Those income thresholds vary from county to county and are determined annually.) Census data indicates that two in five households 65 and older earn less than half the national median income and about one in 10 household heads in that group live in poverty.

 

With a 97 percent occupancy rate, St. Peter's doesn't experience a lot of turnover except among their 48 efficiencies. But at just 381 square feet, even families who need subsidized housing are reluctant to snap up these significantly smaller units.

 

"HUD housing is experiencing a huge crunch," noted Carrie Ermshar, director of the Tennessee Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, a trade organization for companies that manage elderly housing and long-term care delivery. "There are long wait lists and not enough access to affordable options. Assisted living options are just too expensive for lower-income folks."

 

The problem experts forecast is that the wave of seniors needing affordable housing is just beginning to rise. As the boomers enter their twilight years, the demand will only continue to increase, at a time when funding for HUD projects is shrinking. 

 

Frank Gattuso, the executive director of Ave Maria, a nursing facility in Bartlett, completed a needs assessment for a new housing project his group is projected to build within the next year. What he learned during the process is that while there is a glut of assisted living facilities in Shelby County, those numbers will begin to shrink as the boomers come of age.

 

"In 2013 or 2015, the boomer crush comes in with a huge spike in long-term care needs. There will be so many seniors, we won't be able to house them all, and many will have to stay in their homes because there won't be enough housing to meet the demand," said Gattuso.

 

A Memphis HUD spokesperson echoed Gattuso's concern, stating even now, with 18 affordable housing complexes around the city, there's not enough for the low-income elderly.

 

One answer might be keeping people independent at home for as long as possible. The passage of Tennessee's Long Term Care Community Choices Act of 2008, provides greater financial flexibility for those seniors receiving TennCare and enables them to receive health care services at home as opposed to having to move into a retirement home community.

 

"With this approval, we can now fundamentally restructure how long-term care is handled in the TennCare program by providing elderly and disabled Tennesseans with a richer set of choices and a simpler process for accessing them," said Governor Phil Bredesen, after the bill passed. "This will allow the state to serve more people in their homes with the kinds of services that meet their needs and make sound fiscal sense."

 

Places like St. Peter Manor also do what they can to help people live independently as long as possible, by providing home healthcare, light housekeeping, and nurses who come by to administer shots. Apartments are even held up to 90 days when residents become sick and require hospitalization or nursing home care as part of their recovery. "We provide things so as to delay people leaving and going to something more confining. We want them to be independent as long as they can," said Calloway.

 

But such subsidized housing is also designed for those who can manage independent living, said Calloway, "Once they're no longer able to live independently, then they must make other arrangements, since we're not funded to deal with that."

 

Ermshar said she expects affordable housing options may well diversify, as market demand pushes communities to come up with more inventive ways to house low-income residents.