CHV’s Advocacy Corps met on Feb. 8th to preview research conducted by Advocacy Corps members, namely Mary Procter. CHV is presenting at hte Washington Area Village Exchange meeting in late February. Here is the Presentation. For those who saw the presentation and want to provide feed back, they should email mprocter@olg.com.
The presentation and subsequent discussion highlighted the urgency of action needed around increasing housing and care options for all of DC Mary Procter, Fran Hoffman, Elizabeth Cabot Nash, Susan Sedgewick and others have spent the last six months researching demographic data, the range of supportive housing options, workforce needs and costs of it all. Their research has shined a light on a number of intersecting issues which, if not addressed, will prove prohibitive in terms of cost, work force and housing availability.
A key element of CHV’s advocacy program is to research housing for later stages of aging in and replicable models. This presentation is based on preliminary research, although more is needed to make concrete assessments of needs, impediments and incentives to make a compelling argument to expand options. Topics to be covered include:
- “Aging in Community” –the options, economic realities, some important areas needing CHV advocacy.
- The projected Home Health Care Aide shortfall and steps needed to get policy makers attention on this critical issue.
Opportunities for You to Become Engaged – if not CHV, then who?
The team is seeking partners to:
- Research living options and share them with the community.
- Understanding existing policies and options and compare with national models
- Attend and speak at community meetings
- Attend City Council hearings; Senior Advisory Coalition Advocacy Day at the City Council
- And bring your own ideas to the table to address the need for affordable supportive housing for seniors.
If you are interested in participating, please email Susan Sedgewick at jssedgewick@gmail.com. Please be specific in the type of information you want, the sort of contributions you can make, or if you simply want to be added to the mailing list for updates.