Justice in Aging and NLIHC recently co-published an issue brief that explores how housing instability, housing unaffordability, and homelessness impact the low-income senior population. The issue brief explores (1) the intersection of age/ethnicity on rental cost burden, (2) the disproportionate impact of cost burden on older Black and Latinx populations that are rooted in income inequality, (3) the nationwide shortage of affordable rental units, (4) an increase in seniors experiencing homelessness, and (5) which housing and health policy solutions are needed to solve this problem.
“Caught in the vise between their fixed, lower incomes and steadily rising costs for rental housing, low-income seniors are facing unsustainable rent burdens, paying ever higher percentages of their meager incomes on housing,” write the authors. “This untenable situation causes life-threatening stress and leads to people having to choose between paying rent, eating, or buying medications—while also increasing the risk they will be forced onto the streets.”
Read the issue brief below:
Older-Adults-Rental-Housing-BurdensTo download, click here.