Yesterday, some 30 people gathered over cheese enchiladas at the United Community Center to discuss ways to "get it right" with senior housing. And that includes making sure the services are there to support a great life into and through old age.
The Next Steps meeting was a follow-up of our earlier Housing Options Summit and, informally, of the UWM Senior Housing Ideas Competition.
Around the table were developers, case managers, architects, mortgage lenders, senior advocates, landscape architects, county department directors, grad students, consultants who put together deals, program developers, senior citizens, and more. Most were concerned mainly with older adults, but some represented the community of disabled people, whose needs are very similar.
They came because they know about the gaps in housing and supportive services that make it hard to age in place—or live at home with disabilities. And they brought with them ideas, hopes, frustrations, and most of all, a desire to make a real difference now.
What’s needed is affordable, appropriate, accessible housing. Right now, the supply of housing that meets all three of those criteria is small. Services and the stuff to maintain a life need to be incorporated into the residence or the nearby community. Safety, beauty, respect, and community life matter. So does transportation. And so does variety: no one size fits all.
No surprises there. But what’s missing is coordination to fit all the parts together, resources and a plan. Political scientist Norton Long said forty years ago that people building economically viable cities are coming to realize that the vision they are seek is not just bigger roads and more tax base but “the possibility of attaining a shared common goal of a better life.” Plans come and go, and we keep trying to figure out how to do it better.
The next step in the process will be engaging in strategic planning, looking at models that work and can be replicated (or improved upon), like Lapham Park. We’re looking for ways to bring all our knowledge and wisdom to existing and new planning and decision-making processes.
We are also looking at what we need to build in terms of better coordination between the range of services and housing options. Stay tuned for more information or forward your name if you are interested in being a part of these exciting developments.
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1 comment:
Well written article.
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