Older adults are the most at-risk population
The need for affordable housing is especially dire for low-income older adults, many of whom are living on a fixed income. That’s led some advocates to question why the plan’s first proposed budget, the subject of a public hearing on Wednesday, doesn’t include any dedicated funding for homes catering to residents in that demographic, particularly for new rentals.
Nearly 24,000 households in Philadelphia where all tenants are 65 or older are considered rent-burdened, meaning more than 30% of their income goes towards gross rent, according to Census data crunched by HIP. Gross rent includes the base rent and other expenses like utilities.
There are a total of 12,132 units of federally subsidized rental properties in the city that are targeted toward older adults and have active affordability requirements.
“We did what we needed to do when we worked. Now, what do we do? We have nowhere to go. That’s your job to give us a place to go. Help us,” said Lori Peterson, 64, a member of OnePA Renters United.
It took Peterson, a retired school crossing guard, roughly seven years to find an affordable unit that was safe and habitable. During that stretch, she said she looked at a minimum of 50 properties, including some that were outside of Philadelphia. Most had yearslong waiting lists. Others had age requirements she didn’t meet.
In the interim, Peterson rented a one-bedroom apartment at a West Oak Lane building owned by Odin Properties, one of the city’s largest landlords. And almost immediately, she started contending with a cockroach infestation so bad that she would routinely find insects crawling across her body and her belongings.
But like many low-income seniors, Peterson couldn’t afford to leave, forcing her to live with substandard conditions while she searched for a better place.
“I’ve now been diagnosed with PTSD,” Peterson said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. “No one, and I mean no one, should have to go through the ordeal that I went through. They just did not take the time to care about anybody living in that building.”
About a year ago, she moved into a handicap accessible unit in a North Philadelphia building that is roach-free. She said she feels blessed but that the stress of her search for a habitable apartment still lingers.
“Nobody should have to do that,” she said.
The mayor’s plan is rooted in creating and preserving 30,000 units of housing. And it includes funding for programs the administration hopes will benefit seniors.
For example, the latest iteration of the plan’s first budget calls for almost $54 million for creating and preserving affordable housing. Those dollars will provide what’s known as “gap” funding for developers to build and acquire properties, as well as renovate and preserve them.
“We’re just prepared to respond to what folks need the most. And if in fact that’s senior housing, we’ll find the way to make sure that we support that. But I think that the key here is to provide the subsidy needed,” said Jessie Lawrence, director of the city’s Department of Planning and Development.
To Lawrence, that flexibility is critical for a multifaceted, multiyear plan.
“That’s why we have erred on the side of comprehensiveness, as opposed to maybe target populations,” he said.