Elders Living at Home

ELAHP is being asked to help more people with increasingly acute and emergent needs

In Massachusetts, and especially in Greater Boston, the recovery from the economic crisis has created additional risk for very low-income individuals. The housing market is currently in a "bubble." With fewer people able to purchase homes, there is a tremendous demand for rentals. This has caused rents to skyrocket. This has also contributed to scarcity in the availability of subsidies, even in housing developments for the elderly and disabled where turnover is greater.

ELAHP Meets Changing Needs

In a collaborative effort with the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston, ELAHP initiated Aging Right in Community in May of 2012, to provide intensive case management services, enhanced by legal support and expertise, to older adults who are at imminent risk of losing their housing and becoming homeless.

When we conceived this collaboration with MLP | Boston, supported by grants from the Oak Foundation and other funders, we anticipated serving individuals who were having some difficulty accessing or maintaining housing but who were not necessarily in crisis. However, the referrals that came in and continue coming in are for seniors who may become homeless within weeks or sometimes even days.

90% of the clients we have worked to have maintained their housing in the face of imminent homelessness, making this program one of the key "go-to" agencies for Boston area attorneys representing elders facing eviction, for housing management companies seeking solutions to avoid beginning the eviction process and even for the courts themselves looking for solutions to the growing problem of seniors losing their homes. Our growing network of connections increases our clout within the system and our ability to work for positive outcomes for our clients.