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While many of the country's public housing developments are designed for and occupied by senior citizens, it is surprising that a recent Urban Institute study of five family developments found that 13 percent of their households were headed by persons age 62 or older. What are these seemingly mishoused seniors doing in housing intended for families? Increasingly, they are raising children.
As Urban Institute researchers Richard Johnson and Simone Schaner attest in their article "Many Older Americans Engage in Caregiving Activities" (http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311203), a large number of older people in the general population have significant childcare responsibilities. For some families, this means grandparents have taken on the role of primary caretaker usually assumed by parents. About 2.4 million households nationwide are comprised of grandparents raising their grandchildren according to the U.S. Census.1
We find these "grandfamilies" are even more common among families in public housing. In a recent Urban Institute policy brief, Robin Smith and Kadija Ferryman explore the living situations of older adults in five public housing communities (http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311279). Interviews with these seniors confirm that approximately a quarter have assumed long-term responsibility for grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other youngsters, due to the death, incarceration, or drug addiction of a parent. The current bifurcated public housing system that separately targets family and senior households does not take into account the blending of these two seemingly distinct populations. Housing interventions for low-income seniors need to change to more effectively match the demographics and activities of today's senior-headed families.
It would be a mistake to treat low-income elderly households with children just like other public housing families with kids. Senior-headed families with children in public housing are different from their younger counterparts. The problems of young people in public housing, such as poor health and economic disconnection, are magnified in the older adult population who may have struggled with these concerns for decades. Poor health often evolves into disability and severely limited personal mobility. Disconnection extends to social isolation, worsening economic and physical vulnerability. Unless these challenges are effectively addressed, elderly caregivers face enormous difficulty raising young children and may not be able to effectively meet children's needs. Successful housing for these families must meet the needs of older persons as well as the educational, recreational, and social needs of children.
Much of the nation's public housing stock for senior citizens was built for able-bodied older individuals and couples living independently. Today's elderly population does not entirely match that picture. Not only are some raising minor children, others are in such poor health that they need affordable housing with an assisted living component. Seniors in public housing are in worse health than other older Americans-even other poor older Americans. Compared with a national sample of poor seniors, public housing residents in the five communities studied by Smith and Ferryman are much more likely to report they suffer from such chronic health conditions as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and asthma. These conditions can seriously undermine long-term health and well-being, and the portion of public housing seniors suffering from them is staggering. This situation points to the need for a continuum of care for elders in public housing or at least some option for affordable assisted living in the communities where people have long made their homes.
A responsible system of public housing for seniors must take the changing needs of low-income seniors into account. While some low-income older adults are able to live independently and require only the economic benefits conveyed through affordable public housing rents, others need housing that takes into account multigenerational families, declining health, disability status, and social isolation. A first step for many housing authorities is to assess the health and family status of their older adult residents and plan ways to meet current and anticipated housing needs.
The time for such action is now. As people live longer and the baby boom generation ages, the number of senior citizens will swell. Demand for services, including public housing, will grow. For many seniors already in public housing, these developments and neighborhoods have been their home for decades and they have no skills or financial resources to navigate other types of housing options. Strategic planning that creates housing environments to meet the broad needs of today's seniors is a worthwhile investment. Communities that go beyond business as usual have a better chance at developing creative solutions to successfully house a diverse low-income senior population.
Note
1. Simmons, Tavia, and Jane Lawler Dye. 2003. "Grandparents Living with Grandchildren: 2000." Census 2000 brief. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce.
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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