Family Eldercare to Increase Deeply Affordable Housing for Older Adults
Family Eldercare has been partnering with older adults and people with disabilities since 1982, and ensuring their financial and housing stability is a critical priority. We’re thrilled to announce our participation in the Travis County Supportive Housing Collaborative to develop a pipeline of new-build supportive housing to address the needs of housing-fragile older adults, people experiencing homelessness, and adults with disabilities.
Family Eldercare joined six other non-profits (Austin Area Urban League, Caritas of Austin, Integral Care, LifeWorks, A New Entry, and SAFE Alliance) to form the Travis County Housing Collaborative. Our goal is to create 1,000 units of new affordable housing with wrap-around supportive services on at least six sites in Austin. Over the next four months, we will engage with stakeholders with city, county, non-profits, people experiencing homelessness, and advocates to develop site-specific models for deeply affordable housing and supportive services. The Collaborative is committed to an inclusive process that prioritizes those with lived experience and integrates an equity assessment to ensure our development project will increase equity in health and wellness, affordability access and sustainability, cultural preservation and proficiency, institutional compliance and accountability, transparency, intersectionality, and community engagement. The Collaborative will also perform capacity-building for smaller local non-profits through partnerships at the new supportive housing sites.
Family Eldercare’s clients are among the many people affected by the housing affordability crisis unfolding in Austin. Over 90% are under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Unplanned expenses such as health emergencies or the rising cost of living are catastrophic for people living on a low, fixed income. Some fall deeper into poverty because they are no longer able to manage their finances due to cognitive decline or the loss of a partner who previously handled bills. And for the thousands of older adults experiencing or at risk for homelessness in Travis County, aging in place is contingent on having a safe, affordable place to live. Our community urgently needs more affordable housing units, and we are grateful for Travis County leadership for making a historic investment in the creation of deeply affordable and supportive housing.
ABOUT FAMILY ELDERCARE: We thoughtfully partner with families, individuals, and other local organizations to create stability, dignity, and success for aging Central Texans. As fierce advocates for aging in place, Family Eldercare offers a continuum of services to keep our community stably housed, financially secure, healthy, socially connected, and protected from abuse, neglect, or exploitation – regardless of income. We believe older adults and people with disabilities are a vital part of creating a more livable, inclusive community for everyone.
Family Eldercare has offered client-centered services to keep older adults stably housed for many years with proven results. From 1997-2011, Family Eldercare operated the Elder Shelter to provide transitional housing and intensive case management for older adults experiencing homelessness. We have been providing some form of these services ever since, including identifying housing, providing case management, and assisting people to exit homelessness. In 2004, Family Eldercare was awarded HUD 202 funds to develop and construct Lyons Gardens, a 54-unit affordable senior housing community in Austin, TX that we maintain to this day. In 2005, we helped form a local collaborative which provides comprehensive case management and direct financial assistance to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. In 2020 and 2021, Family Eldercare was a key provider of financial assistance to individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri, successfully scaling up our services to manage millions of dollars of relief funds.
