{"id":69399,"date":"2025-11-29T07:46:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T07:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/69399\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T07:46:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T07:46:22","slug":"need-for-affordable-senior-housing-grows-as-senior-population-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/69399\/","title":{"rendered":"Need for affordable senior housing grows as senior population rises"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) \u2014 Colorado\u2019s senior population continues to grow, and so does the cost of living. <\/p>\n

The Colorado State Demography Office projects that more than 1.1 million Coloradans will be over the age of 65 by 2030. As of 2024, that number sits at 983,000, according to its database. <\/p>\n

For many older adults living on fixed incomes, the rising cost of housing is becoming increasingly unsustainable. One Colorado Springs woman who’s on a fixed income says she nearly became homeless before finding a new place she could afford.<\/p>\n

For Jana Alexander, the move into a newly opened senior living community came just in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really nice. I think I\u2019m trying to get used to the idea of not being fearful,\u201d Alexander said. <\/p>\n

Alexander says it\u2019s the first time she\u2019s ever been able to mount her TV on a wall. It’s a small but meaningful sign that she finally has a place she can call home.<\/p>\n

But just a few months ago, the situation looked very different. It was very challenging. <\/p>\n

Over three years in her previous apartment, her rent increased by nearly $400, Alexander said. It was beyond what she could afford to pay every month. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to figure out what my option is going to be\u2026 besides the streets,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

With utilities, insurance, and medical expenses piling up, the stress became overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstant butterflies in your stomach,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

CEO of Silver Key Senior Services says the organization hears stories like Jana\u2019s far too often.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I put food on the table, or do I pay all these things so I don\u2019t lose my house?\u201d said Jason DeaBueno, CEO of Silver Key Senior Services. <\/p>\n

In El Paso County, the population of adults 65 and older is now 110,000, and is expected to reach more than 118,000 by 2030. <\/p>\n

The Pikes Peak Housing Network reports there are 28 affordable senior housing sites in the county, totaling nearly 2,000 units. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to figure out how to create capacity for people to downsize while still allowing the community to support the growth that\u2019s happening,\u201d DeaBueno said.<\/p>\n

DeaBueno says the organization is taking steps to help close that gap. It has recently submitted plans to build new affordable senior housing in the Old North End.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we are moving forward with financing,\u201d DeaBueno confirmed.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Alexander says there are too many people who are going through similar challenges. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are really not too many places for them to go\u2026 unless they move in with their kids,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

News5\u2019s Peter Choi wants to hear from you. If you\u2019re a senior struggling with rising costs, whether it\u2019s rent, insurance, or groceries, he\u2019d like to learn more about your experience. You can reach him at peter.choi@koaa.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘They lit up the room’: Family mourns three children killed in crash<\/p>\n

We’re hearing from the family of some of the children killed Monday after a head on crash on Highway 83 southeast of Castle Rock.<\/p>\n

‘They lit up the room’: Family mourns three children killed in crash<\/p>\n

News Tips <\/p>\n

What should KOAA5 cover? Is there a story, topic, or issue we should revisit? Have a story you believe should make the light of day? Let our newsroom know with the contact form below. <\/p>\n

____<\/p>\n

Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5<\/a>, download and start watching. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) \u2014 Colorado\u2019s senior population continues to grow, and so does the cost of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[943,944,945,946,138,140,139,947,948,949,950,223],"class_list":{"0":"post-69399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-el-paso","8":"tag-colorado","9":"tag-colorado-news","10":"tag-colorado-pueblo-news","11":"tag-colorado-springs-news","12":"tag-el-paso","13":"tag-el-paso-headlines","14":"tag-el-paso-news","15":"tag-koaa","16":"tag-koaa-5","17":"tag-koaa-news-5","18":"tag-koaa5","19":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}