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«« Previous: Springtime for Haman: Somerville Hits the Stage This Weekend
by @BarryRafkind in Housing, Seniors
Posted on March 21, 2010 at 12:01 am
Last Modified on March 26, 2010 at 8:56 am
Through a question to the ResiStat blog, I recently learned this fact which makes one wonder why Mayor Curtatone has been pushing so hard for a new Senior Housing Ordinance.
«« Previous: Springtime for Haman: Somerville Hits the Stage This Weekend
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Barry, do you know where these numbers originated? I assume these numbers reflect residents who qualify for subsidized and/or rental assistance; therefore, these numbers only reflect a portion of families within Somerville- and also include individuals and families throughout the State.
It seems important to understand whether these numbers can be analyzed with regards to whether they show proportionate or disproportionate housing needs. For example, do these numbers show that a disproportionate number of Somerville families require rental assistance? Do they show if a disproportionate number of Seniors are low-income and in need of affordable housing? Do these numbers allow us to understand what percentage of individuals and families with disAbilities are very low-income and in need of accessible and affordable housing Somerville, or within the State?
Do these numbers reflect the affordable housing needs of families and individuals who have rent burdens, yet just miss qualifying for subsidized housing and other rental assistance, because many of their regular monthly costs aren’t even accounted for by the current rental assistance programs?
Other factors that should be tied to an analysis of these “facts” include how people gain access to actually getting on these lists.
For example, there are approximately 84,000 nonelderly residents with disAbilities awaiting subsidies for accessible housing across the State, and approximately 9,000 nursing home residents in MA who are also ready, and wanting to live integrated independent lives within the community. However, so many individuals do not even have access to such lists, due to a confluence of factors, including: the lack of usable information and the prevalence of misinformation in nursing home and other institutional settings. (Then, of course, even if on such lists, they must deal with the most vexing problem of all- the lack of accessible, integrated affordable housing stock throughout the State.)
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Because seniors vote, silly!
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