I was honored last week to participate in Retirement Housing Foundation's (RHF) 45^th anniversary celebration. RHF is one of our large and enduring AAHSA members. They're good folks, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, and have a great tradition of providing housing and services in many states for people with modest incomes.

The theme of the celebration was, "The Miracle of RHF." Come to think of it, senior housing has been a miracle in America for millions of people over the last 50 years. But we are not sure our policymakers fully understand what a miracle it is for the people who live there.

Take Minnia Kinnia Kindle, who moved in 1989 with her cat to an RHF community in East Prairie, Mo. She knows the miracle of senior housing as well as anyone:

I cried tears of joy on the day I learned we could move into the apartment. I am a diabetic and have multiple health problems. The house we moved from was dangerous, with rotting floors and birds nesting between the ceiling and roof. The hot water heater was leaking and the washer and dryer were falling through the floor. I thank the Lord for letting us move here. I don't have to worry about mowing a yard, rotting floors, leaking roof or the water heater blowing up. This has got to be part of heaven.

We are sharing Minnia's story as part of a campaign AAHSA is launching to urge Congress to increase funding for low-income senior housing. The President's proposed budget cuts nearly $200 million in funding for new low-income affordable senior apartments. That would create an average of 54 units per state at a time when there's nine people on the waiting list for every available unit and the population needing affordable housing is increasing.

You don't have to work in our field long to know that the stories of the people we serve best tell the need for healthy, affordable, ethical aging services. Why they choose to live in our facilities and use our services tells the story of why we need to continue to advocate for improved quality and better funding. What they would say to Congress speaks volumes.

For example, take Elsie Mister, who lives in a National Church Residences (NCR) community in Middletown, Ohio.

"I could not afford a place under any other circumstances, even with sharing rent it would put a great burden on me. I would tell [my congressman] that it is a godsend for us. It enables us to live our aged years in a decent place with some dignity that we otherwise would not be able to have and I give thanks for it every day of my life."

In the next two weeks, Congress will make key decisions about how much money to allocate for different segments of the Federal budget. We must flood Congressional offices with stories like Minnia's and Elsie's so that they'll have to think long and hard about cutting programs that provide elders the dignity and quality we all want.

AAHSA has created an easy to use six-question form that housing residents can fill out. I urge you to offer them to all your residents, collect as many as possible with a photo of the resident and send the package to your local Congressional district office.

From Apr. 3-5, AAHSA will have what is likely to be our largest ever Future of Aging Services Conference in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, we plan to storm Capitol Hill with AAHSA's Five Big Ideas for transforming aging services. Idea #2 is "Expand Housing with Services." As you know, many affordable senior housing communities offer services like meals and transportation that help people remain in their own homes instead of moving to a nursing home. We'll be there telling Congress that investing in housing for seniors yields a tremendous return for those who want to continue to live independently but need supportive services.

That's the story we'll tell, but no one tells it better than our residents. Let me leave you with a quote from Joan Shivers, a resident of NCR's Dublin House in Middletown, Ohio:

I once was on the verge of getting a bed at the homeless shelter — but God intervened. We need more housing like this — we can't afford rent without this type of housing.

Senior housing is needed! Women especially make less than their husbands — even if they worked. We are below the poverty level on Social Security. We need all the help we can get. We are too old and too poor to fight for our rights and so we depend on our Senators and Congressmen to fight for our rights. We are your mothers, grandmothers and sisters. Do it for them!!

You're right, Joan. Senior housing is needed. You need all the help you can get.

Rev. Laverne Joseph, CEO of RHF, believes that RHF does a miraculous job of daily lives of people they serve. I agree. Let's all begin to showcase the miracles in the lives of the people we serve. And let's make sure Congress believes in miracles, too.

William L. Minnix, Jr., D.Min.
President and CEO

Download our senior housing story form.

Locate your local Congressional office to submit stories.

Sign up for a Congressional visit during the Future of Aging Services Conference.

Write to your representative.

AAHSA
2519 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington DC 20008