Coalition for Senior Housing

• The population of individuals in Massachusetts, age 65+, will increase by 37% between year 2000 and 2020 from 860,162 to 1,178,852 individuals (Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs).

• Currently, one out of every five people age of 65+ in our state live beneath the poverty line and an estimated 50% of those individuals are homeless (HEARTH).

• Massachusetts has more than 146,200 elders covered by Medicaid. On average, each of the elders consumes more than $14,052 per year. These dollars are spent on long-term care services (Kaiser Family, 2004).

The Coalition for Senior Housing (CSH) was founded in 2005 and our membership now includes a steering committee of 17 major organizations involved in advocacy for and provision of housing and/or services for elders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Our mission is to advocate for the creation and preservation of accessible, affordable and appropriately supported housing to enable seniors to age in the

community while maintaining the highest level of dignity and independence.
Our administrative support is funded though a grant from the Boston Foundation.
The Coalition continues its outreach to organizations throughout Massachusetts in hopes of further coordinating advocacy for elder housing and services.

Housing serves as shelter and provides a sense of comfort and security for many older residents. It figures prominently in quality of life and can affect the ability of an older person to age in place and remain independent. Older people experience serious housing problems because of housing costs, inappropriateness of the home for aging in place, or challenges to protecting residents’ financial interest in the home.

Meeting the needs of the aging population now and in the future will not be easy. In addition, decisions on elder housing will need to interface with a variety of home and community based services that allow seniors to age in place with the highest level of dignity and independence.