'Critical shortage' of affordable housing for Valley seniors

May 18—A task force is tackling a "critical" shortage of affordable housing in the Valley, with estimates of up to 70 percent of very-low income seniors, families and people with disabilities unable to secure housing in Union and Snyder counties.

"Finding affordable housing for seniors is one of the most difficult parts of the job. As executive director of the Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, my job is to help people living in poverty. We are expected to be a catalyst for change," said Sue Auman, who serves on the task force of representatives across the region from groups such as the Area Agency on Aging, SEDA-Council of Governments and county housing authorities looking to secure grants and resources to address the issue.

The lack of adequate affordable housing is leading to rising homelessness in the Valley, said Holly Kyle, executive director of the Union-Snyder Area Agency on Aging.

"There are waiting lists (for housing) in every county and we're seeing an increase of homeless people," she said. "The shelters are full so people are staying at local motels, couch-surfing or leaving the area."

Leslie Osgood, the chief of rental housing at SEDA-COG, said there are waiting lists at each of the four senior housing facilities she oversees in Selinsgrove, Dalmatia and Danville where residents are able to receive support services, including live-in aides and 24-hour care if needed.

SEDA-COG operates two sites in Selinsgrove; a 25-unit, 1-bedroom facility on South High Street and a 17-unit, 1-bedroom facility on South Market Street which are available to low-income residents 62 years and older and are now fully occupied with a 37-person wait list.

There is also a 24-unit housing rental in Dalmatia available to income-eligible residents 55 and older and a 24-unit housing unit in Danville, with 24 residents on a waiting list for a one-bedroom and nine people waiting for a two-bedroom apartment, she said.

"I think it is a crisis. We need more affordable housing" to meet the demand of the under-served, Osgood said of the low-income elderly population.

Rural Housing Works is set to break ground this fall on Newman Commons, a new, 44-unit, one-bedroom housing facility in Kelly Township, Union County which will provide support services to the senior residents.

The facility will be voucher based, with priority to residents who live or work in Union or Snyder counties, said Sharon Leon, deputy executive director at the Union County Housing Authority which will manage the property.

Leon said the agency is also looking to start a rental rehabilitation program that would provide landlords financial aid to improve properties — such as making them more energy efficient — in exchange for providing affordable housing for a certain period of time.

Rich Kisner, executive director of Bloomsburg-based Community Strategies Group (CSG), has been working since 1999 to improve housing needs in the Valley by securing low-income housing tax credits to develop affordable housing in the Valley.

In the past 24 years, Kisner's agency has built and leased 129 units for low-income senior residents. CSG recently tried, but failed, to secure highly competitive state funding for a 44-unit in Danville, but Kisner said they will continue to work toward securing funding for the proposed project as well as expanding into Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.

"We are looking at opportunities there," he said of market studies that show "significant need" for affordable housing in the three counties.

Since the establishment of CSG, Kisner said, the need for housing among all demographics has grown "dramatically."

He cites the increasing number of adults living longer, rising cost of construction, building materials and interest rates, along with the labor shortage for amplifying the housing problem nationwide in recent years.

"We have a 44-unit project in Bloomsburg that has been delayed several times," Kisner said, as prospective tenants have been waiting since January to move in.

In addition to building the housing units, CSG also provides maintenance and programming, including employing a service coordinator available to address residents' needs.

In one instance, a resident was seen by the coordinator with scratches on her arm and when she learned the renter was scratched by her dog when it became spooked in the elevator, the coordinator purchased a pet buggy so the senior would be able to take the animal out safely.

Aumun praised Kisner's work in providing affordable housing catering to seniors.

"He is a community treasure," she said. "I can't say enough good about his efforts to make a difference in creating housing solutions.

Kisner doesn't expect the housing issue to improve anytime soon, particularly due to housing trends among the younger population who are demanding affordable, smaller and manageable housing properties close to amenities — the same type of properties needed by the elderly, low-income and people with disabilities.

The people struggling to find affordable housing are our "moms, grandmothers, aunts and uncles. Almost all are from here or moving back to the area," he said. "They are working people. They are checking you out at Weis Markets, making your bed at the hospital. They all need housing."

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