Updates

LeadingAge Policy Update Calls; all calls are at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Housing is arguably the most significant social determinant of health – and certainly an essential precursor to receiving home care. We had a conversation with Jennifer Molinsky, Project Director, Housing an Aging Society Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University to discuss their new report, Housing America’s Older Adults 2023. The report is hot off the press (November 30) and warns that America is not ready to provide housing and care for the population over age 65, which has soared by 34% over the past decade and continues to grow. To listen to the conversation, go here.  Note that to access recordings of the calls you need a LeadingAge password. Any staff member of any LeadingAge Indiana member organization has access to the LeadingAge site. You just need your password to access previous calls and other members-only content.

LeadingAge President and CEO Authors Open Letter to Speaker Johnson

Katie Smith-Sloan sent an open letter to newly selected Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson highlighting the every growing population of adults over sixty-five and the need for bold leadership to ensure older Americans age with dignity and appropriate care and support. In addition to asking to meet with Speaker Johnson to discuss critical issues impacting older adults, Ms. Smith-Sloan encouraged him to consider the following: Creating an aging stakeholders’ group to act as advisors his staff and other congressional leaders on aging services, long-term care in all settings, affordable senior housing, and the aging services and healthcare workforce; mandate the enactment of a White House Office on Aging Policy; and, work with the Administration to engage the Departments of Labor, State, and other relevant agencies to work collaboratively to streamline the immigration process for applicants seeking to enter the U.S. legally and use their skills in aging services.

Take Action! Expanding Service Coordinators Act

On December 6, LeadingAge issued an action alert urging stakeholders to ask their representatives to cosponsor the Expanding Service Coordinators Act (H.R. 5177). Fewer than half of the multifamily housing communities assisted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have a service coordinator—and there is no national program to fund service coordinators in Housing Credit communities. Service coordinators fulfill a critical need to connect older adult residents of affordable housing communities to the services and supports they need to successfully age in the community. Please take action, and share this alert, to urge representatives to cosponsor the Expanding Service Coordinators Act and support funding for new service coordinators. 

HUD Announces Energy Benchmarking Initiative for Multifamily Housing

On December 6, HUD announced a free Energy and Water Benchmarking Initiative for Multifamily Housing properties. By participating in this initiative, property owners will receive personalized support in assessing the efficiency of their buildings for up to four years. HUD’s contractor, Leidos, will support property owners and management by contacting utilities on their behalf to access the necessary energy and water use data and providing recommendations for cost and energy savings. The HUD Energy and Water Benchmarking Initiative may provide a variety of benefits to multifamily property owners, including:  

• Receiving an annual property analysis report with usage trends and identifying opportunities for energy and water savings in your building(s)   
• Establishing eligibility or preparing properties to make use of federal, state, and utility energy efficiency programs, such as HUD’s Multifamily Green and Resilient Retrofit Program and EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.  
• Supporting early compliance with local ordinances as more localities across the country take interest in energy usage data of multifamily properties.  

Housing providers can contact MFBenchmarking@HUD.gov to opt-in to the program or get answers to benchmarking questions. Properties may also receive outreach from Leidos (HUDMFBenchmarking@leidos.com) to request property enrollment in the benchmarking initiative. LeadingAge will host HUD guests during our regular Housing Network call on January 8 to discuss the initiative. Reach out to LeadingAge’s Housing experts, Linda Couch or Juliana Bilowich to join the Network. 

Nearly 700K Households Would Lose HUD Assistance Under a Year-Long CR

If a year-long continuing resolution (CR) is enacted, as House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) has said is a possibility, an analysis released December 7 by the Senate Committee on Appropriations says that “federal housing assistance for nearly 700,000 households” would be cut, “pushing many of them toward homelessness.” A year-long CR would fund HUD programs during all of fiscal year 2024 at fiscal year 2023 levels. Such funding would be insufficient to renew all Section 8 project-based rental assistance contracts and continue funding for all Housing Choice Voucher Households. Funding at last year’s levels would also result in 3,000 fewer new affordable homes built, including in HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program. Read the Senate’s analysis here. Use this action alert to urge members of Congress to enact a final FY24 HUD appropriations bill.

Research Links Housing Instability to Dementia Risk Among Veterans

A new study published December 5 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that veterans with housing instability were 53% more likely to receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia (ADRD) compared to people with stable housing. Because the report found that veterans experiencing housing instability have a substantially higher risk of receiving a diagnosis, the researchers called on health systems and providers to implement cognitive screening among people experiencing housing insecurity; the report also recommended that existing permanent supportive housing programs consider wraparound services to support Veterans experiencing ADRD. According to the report, nearly 85,000 Veterans experienced homelessness in the U.S. during 2020.