New Grant Helps Older Adults In Oakland County Find Affordable Housing Resources

Community Housing Network is starting work on an important grant from the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH). The collaborative grant addresses the rising homeless problem for older persons.

MCAH was awarded a $450,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to serve housing and healthcare needs of older adults who are experiencing, or are at risk of, homelessness in Oakland County. The two-year project is a collaboration of Oakland County partners in healthcare, senior services and homeless response systems. Community Housing Network is the lead partner for the project.

“This is perfect timing for this grant. We can get right to work on assisting seniors to find housing. Using our innovative housing navigation and care coordination best practices, we plan to create a new standard of care in the region,” said Kirsten Elliott, CHN vice president/chief operating officer. “Thank you to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund for your recognition of this pressing need for older persons and awarding the grant to the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness and all of the grant’s partner agencies.”

The joint effort will focus on two solutions to the complex problem of Oakland County homeless older persons: 1) establishing Oakland County’s first Integrated Information System (IIS) that tracks, flags, and records referrals between homelessness and the healthcare system, as well as 2) establishing Community Housing Navigator positions in Oakland County to facilitate the coordination of healthcare, housing, and other services.

The housing affordability crisis for older Americans is a growing problem as inflation and rising rents are leaving seniors in precarious housing situations. The ultimate objective of the grant project is to achieve better outcomes with regards to housing and healthcare for older adults.

As the lead partner for the grant, Community Housing Network will be joined by other key collaborators, including Haven, Jewish Family Services, Sage Metro Detroit, PACE, Baldwin Center, EasterSeals Michigan, Oakland County Health Department and Area Agency on Aging 1-B.

You can read more about the new endeavor in this article by the MCAH, the project fiduciary.