LeadingAge: HUD Awards $51 Million for New Section 202 Housing for the Elderly Homes

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- LeadingAge issued the following news release:

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- LeadingAge Celebrates Advocacy Achievement 11 of the 18 Grant Recipients are LeadingAge members

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Following years of aggressive advocacy to renew funding for Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, LeadingAge, the association of mission-driven, aging-focused service providers, is pleased to share news from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For the first time in nearly a decade, HUD is awarding money to providers of 202 housing; of the 18 recipients, all of whom applied to HUD via an application-based grant program, 11 are communities operated by LeadingAge members. The financial grants total $51 million. LeadingAge members received $32.8 million.

"This is why we do the work we do," said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO LeadingAge. "We've held rallies, in 2017 and 2019, on Capitol Hill, where thousands of older adults living in 202 housing communities raised their voices and shared their concerns. Congresspeople joined us at those events and in hundreds of meetings here in DC and with our state partners. We've written letters, provided expert testimony, and offered up solutions, such as RAD for PRAC, to ensure that our nation's stock of affordable housing for older adults is both preserved and expanded. These awards are truly tremendous results from years of aggressive advocacy to reinvest in and reinvigorate the 202 program and other types of affordable housing programs for older adults."

The need for affordable housing among older adults is significant and expanding. Since its founding in 1959, the 202 program has provided valuable support for older adults who are priced out of housing markets nationwide, but new funding has not been allocated to the program since 2011 -- which makes today's news particularly welcome.

This $51 million is the first portion of $251 million Congress has provided for new Section 202 homes since the program was revived in 2017. LeadingAge looks forward to HUD expeditiously completing subsequent rounds of 202 funding to meet pressing housing needs.

"These awards remind us of what's possible when precious federal funds align with real community needs. Kudos to the organizations bringing affordable homes and services to these 18 communities," said Linda Couch, vice president , housing policy, LeadingAge. "And we thank Congress for its leadership. As we celebrate this victory, we will keep in mind that wait lists are long and our fight is far from over. LeadingAge will keep advocating to expand the nation's affordable housing supply until every older adult has a quality place to call home."

LeadingAge recipients include:

CT: New Samaritan Corporation; GA: National Church Residences; MA: 2Life Communities; MD: Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. MD: CSI Support & Development Services; MN: Volunteers of America; NM: Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corp.; OH: National Church Residences; OH: The McGregor Foundation; PA: Catholic Housing and Community Services and WA: HumanGood Affordable Housing

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About LeadingAge: We represent more than 5,000 aging-focused organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we address critical issues by blending applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building. We bring together the most inventive minds in our field to support older adults as they age wherever they call home. We make America a better place to grow old. For more information: www.leadingage.org.