PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Biden administration officials stopped in Philadelphia this week to announce a grant program focused on new affordable housing units for senior citizens.
“Hopes and dreams don’t build housing, resources do,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman on Thursday. Todman and other officials announced $115 in federal funding at the Fairthorne senior apartment complex in Roxborough, part of the Biden-Harris administration’s “Investing in America” tour.
The federal grants, offered under HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, will help nonprofits create or rehabilitate homes for low-income individuals 62 years of age or older.
Congressman Dwight Evans said cities like Philadelphia need this financial support.
“We need to keep doing more. We need to keep working together. We need to get people to understand the significance of housing and how much of a priority it is,” he said. “I appreciate the work that’s being done by HUD and the president.”
Todman also acknowledged the many roles grandparents play in families, a rising trend both nationwide and in our region. More grandparents help to raise their grandchildren. Because of this, Todman said, $35 million will be allocated for inter-generational housing, to provide additional support.
“Some of you may know a grandma or grandpa who is raising someone five years old, 10 years old, 12 years old,” she said, clarifying that those units will fit the needs of households headed by seniors raising children under 18 years of age.
The grants are meant to support both rental assistance and development costs, as well as provide energy-efficient housing to help mitigate the impact of climate change. But the most important goal, according to Todman, is to ensure not only that seniors find housing but that they can keep it.
“This commitment to the nation’s seniors is ongoing,” she said, “and it’s strong.”