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se <br />ive <br />s <br />o <br />giy <br />Mix of housing types <br />The number of nursing home and boarding <br />care beds appears more than adequate tor <br />current needs. An estimated 11,400 Twin <br />Cities area seniors have chronic difticulty <br />with basic self-care. The seven counties have <br />18,510 nursing home beds and rooms for <br />1.477 residents in boarding care. However, an <br />unknown number of those beds are reserved <br />for short-term care after illness or injury. <br />The supply of housing with services may <br />also suffice for the present. About 80 percent <br />of seniors who have trouble shopping, <br />getting around outside, and so on. rely <br />primarily on family and friends for help. The <br />other 20 percent, who need more formal <br />(paid) assistance, number just under 10,000 <br />in the Twin Cities area. <br />Currently about 10,000 senior housing units <br />offer housekeeping services or personal care <br />nursing assistance. More than 17,300 senior <br />rental units provide some kind ol <br />meal service, and more than <br />15.000 units provide help with <br />transportation. The big question <br />mark, however, is affordability. In <br />addition, these services are not <br />widely available in the most <br />affordable senior housing — <br />subsidized apartments and low-to- <br />moderate rentals. <br />In ihe future, the need for <br />supportive housing is almost <br />certain to grow. By 2025. the <br />number of Twin Cities seniors <br />needing help with shopping, <br />cooking, managing money, and so <br />on. would nearly double to about <br />87,000, assuming that disability rates remain <br />about the same as today. Fewer of these <br />seniors ’ families may be able to give them all <br />the help they need, as more Minnesotans are <br />working and are having children late in life. <br />Much of the increased demand for housing <br />with services will be in suburban counties. <br />Seniors who remain in their own houses will <br />also boost demand for home-delivered <br />services throughout the Twin Cities area. <br />Good decisions rest on good data <br />This study is just a start. Not nearly enough <br />current. local information exists. The 2000 <br />census will help greatly, but the Twin Cities <br />area should closely monitor: <br />a Senior income, disability, race, and <br />geographic patterns <br />a Supply and demand for alternative senior <br />housing options <br />a The supply, age, and <br />__________ condition of senior housing. <br />including senior-owned <br />homes <br />a What prompts seniors to <br />change their housing <br />arrangements <br />a How life events atfect <br />seniors ’ needs for physical <br />and social support <br />a How much these support <br />services cost and how seniors <br />pay for them <br />a Whether high employment <br />means less family assistance <br />w ith seniors' everyday tasks <br />a How community design, <br />home design, and <br />transportation needs affect <br />seniors ’ housing options <br />The temptation may <br />be strong ^*iJ5lan lor <br />the immediate future <br />A wiser course is to <br />build more llexibility <br />into housing projects <br />and regulations. <br />r>reparing <br />communities to <br />accommodate <br />residents at all stages <br />ol life. <br />Huilding toward the senior boom Wilder Heseanli Center for East Metro SAIL