In these uncertain economic times with gas prices soaring and affordable housing at a minimum it is hard for working families and individuals to make ends meet and have a standard of living that is rewarding. This same dilemma is also faced by are senior citizens who often times have limited income resources and limited opportunities to strive to live a more fulfilling life.
With the housing market collapsing and the City of Portland going condo crazy, affordable housing for seniors is dwindling as the price of current rent keeps rising. More and more seniors are being forced out of their current places of dwelling because they can’t afford the rising cost of rent or live in an apartment complex that has been sold to developers who want to build more condominiums that will not benefit those most in need.
Of the many seniors that I have driven, I hear many of the same complaints about the price of rent going up and up, sometimes as much as 20-25% in a year. Most all retired seniors are living on a fixed income either from pensions, savings and social security checks that often times is just enough money to get them from one month to the next.
In addressing this problem there is a need for all of us to be aware of the dire situation that our clients at Northwest Ministries and the general community at large are facing. By being more aware of the affordable housing problem that senior citizens are up against we can begin to think of different ways to create a public awareness of the problem in hopes of generating ideas to put into action; to develop the political will to create fairness in a housing market that is discriminatory to lower income citizens.
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