Policy Issues Affecting Older Adults With Limited Affordable Housing Within The United States

Policy Issues Affecting Older Adults with Limited Affordable Housing Within the United States

This is formal policy analysis paper addressing problems and policies of state or national importance in social welfare. The paper is intended to develop skills for defining and describing contemporary problems involving social and/or economic justice, and for understanding how New York State, and/or the United States and its residents deal with such problems.

Issues frame discussing the problem

In our daily living, we are often faced with challenges that affect our well-being in our societies. Among the key challenges that develop in our lifetimes include unemployment, lack of shelter, rejection, that is, discrimination by the society based on race, gender and ethnicity and abuse of human rights among many others. The challenges discussed entail the social problems in a community. Social problems are described to be naturally occurring problems developed by adverse conditions within a society (Michailas & Schirmer, 2014). The problems do defer from people expectation resulting to suffering. Among the key causes of social problems include high poverty levels within a society, rapid population growth, illiteracy and superstitious beliefs that prevent people from development. To help lower the effects of social problems in a society various non-governmental organization have raised to address the issue. Similarly, governments have developed strategies to help solve the problem in society. Among the key development include the development of ministries to handle the problems facing the citizens, for example, the ministry of housing and planning. In the US the population of the aged is constantly increasing raising issue on the consideration of their social problems by the policymakers. It is estimated that by 2030 20% of America's population will be made up of persons aged 65 and above (Anderson, Goodman, Holtzman et al, 2012). Among the raised issues include the housing challenge facing the old age in the USA. The paper develops a study on housing problem among the old age in the US as a social problem facing American society. The paper also reviews the policy concerning the study topic and develops recommendations based on their weaknesses.  

The challenges being faced by the old in housing factor has resulted from several factors. Among the key contributors to the situation include the low-income levels of the elderly in society (Stone, 2018). Low income makes it difficult for the elderly to achieve decent lifestyles with proper housing. As a result, they are confined to the subsidized units that are inadequate due to high demand levels of poverty among the aged. In addition, the government has developed reluctance in addressing the housing issue. Also, the development of diseases among the aged has been attributed to poor living styles more so poor maintenance of their homes (Fausset, Kelly, Rodger & Fisk, 2011). The poor house maintenance has attributed to the changes that result from old age that is strength decrease which lowers the activism of the old preventing them from undertaking various roles that are necessary for their healthy development.

Among the key indicators of the severity of the problem include the congestion of the old in the places where houses are affordable and cheap. The congestion in a given population develops health problems due to poor developments made in the regions. Similarly, the struggle for paying mortgages for houses for homeowners and rent for homeless aged people is significant due to their low income (Evidence matters, 2017). More so housing problem may be attributed to high demand for treatment activities by the old which consumes most of their income leaving them with less money to rent or purchase a house. In addition, the old develop a disability in their old age which lowers their participation in activities that produce income. Also, the disability call for modification of their homes to support their lives that is homes should be developed to support the use of wheelchairs and other tools that may help promote the lives of those living with disability in the society. The cases are more evident among the low-income earning citizens at their old age.

Measurement of the problem

Housing is a factor that is essential in a being life that determines his or her wellbeing. Lack of housing and poor housing have several effects on the victims more so on the aged to whom the housing challenge is on the increase. Following the low income earned by the aged, they opt for houses with low rents and some stay homeless. As a result, the old get homes in flooded areas due to poverty levels that push people into cheap houses. The flooded environment and poor condition of the cheap houses make the old vulnerable to diseases due to their weakened immunity resulting from old age (Chapman, Chandola, Stafford et al, 2011). Also, the health challenge may arise following the possibility of a disease outbreak in the densely populated environment more so due to poor living habits. The high poverty levels in the areas also pose security problems to the aged since crime activities tend to rise to endanger their lives. Furthermore, poor living conditions are attributed to the stress of the aged that trigger health problems related to the stress that is hypertension and chronic disease. The stress may result from the struggle to pay rent for tenants and mortgages for homeowners form the little income earned at old age.

Many American aged people do work either on a voluntary basis or on payment terms through which they raise their little income. The old also offer care activities to their spouses (Storey, 2013). The aged also interactive freely with their relatives and involve themselves with activities that promote their health. The old aged in the US also involve themselves in learning new skills even though it takes a long duration of time to learn a concept. On the centrally, the old are also affected by loneliness which causes the development of various health problems in the course of their living. The loneliness also triggers constraints such as financial constraints since they have no one to fund them to meet their needs. In return, the aged develop sickness and become ill and may even die from to lack of health care services owed to lack of finances to finance their treatment. The loneliness may result from neglect by their family members and the society at large.

According to the society, people are not concerned about their health until they are aged. The attention on their health arises from the continued ailment that occurs at old age (Sopcheck, 2016). Most of the diseases that result at old age are attributed to one’s behaviour in their teenage such as smoking that results in respiratory disorders at old age. The aged therefore spend a lot of finance trying to improve their health. As a result, the little saving and compensation made at retirement are used in treatment leaving the aged with no finances to purchase or rent a house. In return, housing becomes a major challenge to them. Economically at old age, people are not able to do their chores as they used to at their young ages more so employers rarely consider the aged in their recruitment programs. The inefficiency in services delivery also makes the employer deploy the aged for retirement which reduces the income earned by the aged. Due to low incomes earned the old face difficulties in paying their house mortgages and rent for the tenant group. In this perspective, the aged end, up residing in poor housing and develop housing problems. Politically, the government has failed to develop initiatives that will help promote the living status of the aged more so in the suburbs. Most of the aged people are located in the remote areas where they lack care and lead lives that are not healthy due to their failure in creating a good environment for their living attributed to their inefficiency in task performance (Evidence matters, 2013). In this consideration, the government should help improve the remote areas to facilitate the welfare of the old more so their living and home conditions.

Consequences of the problem

Neglect has been cited to be the main cause of challenges in the living of the aged. The neglect is mostly done by family members by failing to care for the aged in times of need. In addition, the family members move on to mistreat and abuse the aged. According to research, it has been identified that 700,000 to 1.2 million old people in the use are subjected to neglect and abuse by their relatives (Psychology Today, 2018). The value has also been to increase at a level of 450,000 new cases every year. Furthermore, the aged also develop self-neglect by degrading their worth in society. The aged move on to deny themselves shelter and other essential needs in life following self-neglect. Also, the aged mistreatment is extended into the nursing home where the nurses fail to provide care to the aged as they are expected to.

In order to solve the housing, the problem the 1968 government developed “the fair housing act” in 1968. The act developed ways to promote fair and subsidized housing. It outlined the programs to be executed in realizing fair housing in the United States. The act has been used over time by various governments to help solve the housing problem, for example, the act was reviewed in 2008 by Obama’s government (Kelly, 2014). In the reviews, the possibilities of solving the housing problems were developed. In addition, to the act, the government ordered for a research on the situation to help identify the possible strategies that could be put in place to help solve the challenge. The research recommended the building of houses whose rent would be subsidized to cater to poor tenants and the aged in the community. However, the current government is blame for its delay in addressing the housing problem issue. 

With an aim to promote adequate housing US government has focused on increasing homeownership. Among the strategies applied to achieve the goal include the introduction of taxes on imputed rents. The increase in rent taxes will increase the rent payments forcing the citizens to find an alternative to high cost being incurred from the rents being paid. The alternative is to buy a house where the government has made it easy for ownership through the removal of taxes on a house purchase. The government has also removed tax deductions on mortgage interests (Floetotto, Kirker & Strobel, 2016). In this perspective, the government aims at lowering the cost of homeownership. It has been proposed that the government should increase its housing voucher production instead of home construction for the homeless (Olsen, 2017). The recommendation is based on lowering government expenditure and providing a lasting solution to the housing challenge.

Following an increase on taxes on rents landlords will suffer from low income while the tenants will suffer increased rent fee. The effect will adversely affect the old since they have a little salary or no salary at all on top of their much-needed health care attention. On the other hand, the removal of taxes on house purchases and on mortgage interest fee will lower the cost of houses making it possible for low-income earners to own houses. The house ownership program will affect the landlords due to low demand for their services. more so the adoption of the voucher program will increase the demand for rent services from house owners and lower the intention of owning houses among the tenants. As a result, house owners will realize maximum profits from their services.

Characteristic of the population of interest

The current government has embraced the use of voucher housing program to ensure that to ensure that the homeless get housed. The voucher pays part of the house rent since it was identified that households are spending much of their income on house rent (Olsen, 2017). The government has also cut the finance allocated to the building of new structures that would serve to house the homeless through subsidized fee.  On the recommended legislation the government is planning on adopting the voucher program fully since it is cost effective and more promising in meeting the housing demands compared to the construction strategy.

The introduction of the homeless voucher program has played a great role in assisting the aged. The voucher has helped them cater for their rent fee saving their finances for other key activities in their lives, for example, health care. More so they have been able to move to more decent housing since the government is catering for some of their rent fee (Fisher, Mayberry, Shinn et al, 2014). As a result, they have realized healthy living reducing their chances of infection by diseases and vulnerability to criminal activities. Furthermore, the program has saved the government spending on housing allowing for allocation in other sectors that relate with the aged such as health development.  

The program has benefitted the homeless citizens more so the aged. In the past landlords would kick out the tenants on constraints to pay their rent (US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2018). As a result, the tenants would lead an unsettled life due to frequent chase away by landlords. Also, the tenants would develop health problems more so related to stress due to financial constraints. However, with the introduction of the voucher housing program, the tenants are able to lead a settled life because they can comfortably cater for the rent of the houses, they live in. Furthermore, the program has led to development since the government can use the funds that were initially allocated for house construction into other valuable development programs. The government has argued that homelessness is caused by low income that hinders payment of house rent and thus there is no need of building new structures. Instead, the government has helped the homeless to pay house rent ensuring they are sheltered.

The administration of the voucher program involves an inspection process through which the homeless qualify for the benefits from the program. At first the homeless are required to enrol for the program by signing up (Fisher, Mayberry, Shinn et al, 2014). The enrolled participants are scrutinized to determine their relevancy for the program. Finally, a group is obtained that will benefit from the program and the group begins to receive assistance. The funding of the vouchers is done by the government where the amount awarded is determined by the location and size of the apartment. The distribution of the vouchers is done by the Department of Housing and urban development (HUD) to the beneficiaries of the program.

Social, economic and political factors explaining the problem

The program has several strengths based on positive effects realized from its application both to the victims and the program developer that is government. The effects that call for its application include the development of housing initiative among the homeless. The voucher program will help the homeless to rent a house using the finances provided thus lowering the high number of homeless people more so the old in the society. The program will help lower the poverty levels in the society by developing a conducive climate for education and work. Through the support offered to the poor, they are able to move from the densely populated areas to conducive areas where security guaranteed and good health environment is present (McClure, 2010). In this region, the old will be able to live a more settled life and to perform several activities at their possibility that may earn them income. The use of voucher cards will help develop independence among the aged since they no longer need to be in an elderly to ensure their housing. As a result, the country will also be able to reduce the number of elderly homes. The following benefits of the program serve as the strength factors that call for the program application. On the other hand, the use of voucher has been criticized on the basis that it promotes discrimination more so on the house renting process. Most house owners are against the use of vouchers for rent payment since it lowers their profits and also curtail them from reclaiming compensation on items destroyed in the rented period. Similarly, the model has been downgraded based on the small number of beneficiaries from the program despite the high level of poverty and homelessness in the state. In addition, the use of vouchers, is disadvantaged on the allocation process since most of the beneficiaries want to live in urban areas due to the poor state of the suburbs resulting from poor development in the areas.

The strategy has not yet been developed to meet the objective of housing to all the homeless people more so the old aged who are poor. As a result, most of the intended beneficiaries have been left out from benefits of the program. Furthermore, the application of the voucher program has negatively affected the landlords by lowering they profit accumulation. The effect is felt where government fixes the rent cost limit. In addition, the beneficiaries do not cater for damages done made in the rented house for example repair of window panes and repainting.

Among the key goals attributed to development of the program include realization of the program full effect that is eradication of homelessness challenge especially among the old. The government should also focus on developing satisfaction among the beneficiaries of the program. The project should also seek to increase the number of beneficiaries from its activities. The government should ensure transparency in the recruitment process to ensure that only the deserving get the opportunity. The development is based on the fact that the model only considers a small portion of the homeless. In addition, beneficiaries of the program are not those in need of support since some of the beneficiaries do not utilize their shares since they were not in need of the support offered.

The recruitment process should outline all the requirement and the needs for qualification of the various applicants. Furthermore, the recruitment panel should ensure transparency and integrity in the recruitment process. Laws can be developed to help curb malpractices in the recruitment process. In addition, the government should upgrade the suburbs to create a conducive environment for the aged to live in. Among the development to be made include improvement of infrastructure to ensure the accessibility of health services. The various developments will help realize satisfaction of the beneficiaries with respect to location developed by the program more so to the deserving old aged.

The implementation of the various strategies should be developed by the housing and urban development department since they affect human settlement. The department should liaise with the government to make the development needed in the settlement areas more so in rural areas. In addition, the legal process should be involved to ensure that all the developed laws are respected and followed. Relative of the aged should take the responsibility to ensure that they realize the benefits of the program.

The implementation of the recommendation will ensure that the program results in efficient delivery. The improvement of the suburbs ensures the welfare of the old are considered since they are mostly located in the remote regions. The implementation of the process will should be developed under the development budget of the economy so that development can be funded by the national government. The development ensures that they access proper medication and have a decent living. Furthermore, the development can ensure quick access by nurses who will be monitoring their development. The introduction of laws to ensure the selection of the most deserving will help reduce the high poverty level in the society and save on government money because it will be used for the right purpose as intended. The lowered cost on government spending can be used to strengthen the legal process to ensure transparency and integrity. The various advantages to be realized from the application of the model justifies its effectiveness and return of government resources through curtailing of other spending related to housing such as lowering of old people homes.

The recommendation is implementable since there are many people seeking to benefit from the program and they will help in development of the integrity in the recruitment process. The funding of the recommended development can be obtained from taxes paid by the citizens more so on the taxes made from rent. The development of laws will prevent land owners from discrimination promoting the satisfaction of the beneficiaries. Also, the government can include development strategies for the various allocation areas in its budget allocation on development. The various contributions assure the implement ability of the recommendation and the realization of the benefits involved with its adoption.

The recommendations may have negative effects on the targeted population. Among the key effects include the application of strict recruitment rules may scare away the aged. The process may enquire information that is private to the individuals denying them right to privacy in the recruitment process. As a result, many people may not apply for the program. The target population may not be contented with the places allocated to them especially the remote areas and may overlook the program.

Conclusion

The aged in the society are help develop the culture and traditions of the community. They also serve as role models to the young ones and they offer guidance on particular community matters helping generate a solution to community problems. As a result, the old should be regarded as a treasure by the community. Furthermore, the community should offer them proper care to help reduce suffering in their lives. One of the major helps that can be offered is the providence for a shelter to the homeless. In addition, the community should ensure that the living conditions are conducive for the aged to lower their vulnerability to sickness and reduce the time spent in hospitals (Beales & Tulloch, 2013). The government should also develop laws to protect the aged from mistreatment and develop strategies to improve their lifestyles.

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