Help with Housing
Housing is one of the traditional issues for seniors. The Coronavirus pandemic has made it even worse this past year. Here’s some info about getting help in this time of crisis.
If you lost income due to the pandemic and your rent is going up, you can submit an application for City of Austin RENT (Relief for Emergency Needs of Tenants) to help mitigate the increase.
City of Austin RENT
https://austintexas.gov/rent
Travis County has a program too
Travis County Emergency Rent Assistance
https://www.traviscountytx.gov/health-human-services/individuals-families/apply
And the State of Texas
These programs may be temporarily closed. Please check back later, if so.
You can only receive assistance from one program – no duplication of benefits! – however you can apply to two or more to see which one responds first. City of Austin RENT has been churning applications in about three weeks.
In the medium-term / long-term, you may qualify for affordable housing. (This probably also means downsizing.) City of Austin SMART Housing is for households at 30%, 60% and 80% of Area Median Income.
Austin Tenants Council helps with those who have been discriminated against in housing.
ATC has an office of Fair Housing which is responsive to complaints filed by LGBTQ+ individuals. The Fair Housing division IS LGBTQ-friendly
Operating under the philosophy that everyone has a right to safe, decent, and fair housing, the Austin Tenants Council fulfills thousands of requests each year for help with housing problems. Austin Tenants Council programs focus on housing discrimination; tenant-landlord education and information; and housing repair and rehabilitation. Our mission is to ensure housing stability by rectifying Fair Housing Act violations and empowering tenants to exercise their rights through mediation, advocacy, and education.
https://www.housing-rights.org/
The Many Faces of Housing Discrimination
“We don’t rent to your kind.”
“You’re just not the kind of person we want here.”
“Only five people can rent a three-bedroom apartment under our rules.”
“Congratulations on the new baby. But since you’re in a one-bedroom apartment, you’ll need to move into a two-bedroom unit.”
“I’m sorry, but we’ll have to charge a pet deposit for your guide dog.”
“We have a separate waiting list for people in wheelchairs.”
“Families with children can only live in buildings near the back of the complex.”
Judith Cruz Caballero
Fair Housing Director
Phone 512-637-6621 ext.105
Email [email protected]
205 Chicon St. Austin, TX 78702
Austin Releases More ‘User-Friendly’ Map Listing Affordable Housing
The City of Austin has released a new comprehensive map of housing for low- and middle-income residents.
The digital map, known as the Affordable Housing Listing, shows an array of income-restricted housing units subsidized or incentivized by the city.
Austin Family Eldercare has a program for
Gay and Lesbian elders called Rainbow Connections ATX
Family Eldercare works with a number of publicly-funded or subsidized residential facilities. AGLSS is therefore able to see and assess LGBTQ-friendliness. We will be updating info about these programs.
In 2014, Family Eldercare developed an LGBT and Aging Resource Guide. A new edition is in the works. In the meantime, here’s a link to download the earlier edition. LGBT and Aging Resource Guide – 2014
- Older adults are an invaluable community resource, waiting to be tapped.
Our vision is to create a region that responds to aging as a dynamic rather than a stagnant force. We are all aging, all the time. And we want to make Central Texas a place that supports each of us,at every age.
Because our community is changing – and it’s not just how you think.
The Watermark at Southpark Meadows advertises that they are LGBTQ+ welcoming and proudly announce their High Performer status on SAGE’s 2023 Long-Term Care Equality Index.
Kindred Uncommon
Senior Co-Housing
A Senior Housing Project is being developed in Buda called Kindred Uncommon (previously called Cantina). The organizers of the project are members of the Austin LGBTQ community and invite our interest in their project. If you want to learn more about Kindred Uncommon, here’s a link to an article in the Senior Resource Guide about Cantina titled A New Model of Active Adult Senior Living is Coming to the Austin Area.
https://srgserv.com/industry/cantinacommunities/
And here’s a link to their website with artist renderings of the project
https://kindreduncommon.com
Limestone Ridge 7011 McKinney Falls Parkway Austin, TX 78744
P: 512-422-0213 TTY: 711
A new 55+ affordable housing community located in South East Austin. They have reached out to the Coalition. Check them out at https://www.limestoneridgeatx.com/
Project Transitions
dedicated to serving people with HIV and AIDS by providing housing, comprehensive support services, recuperative care and hospice in compassionate and caring environments.
Project Transitions is building a large housing complex on Koenig Lane to serve people with HIV and AIDS
Every person living with HIV deserves compassionate care and a place to call home.
QWELL’s Project in Austin
Community Centers Update
QWELL has a Developer and a Builder for our planned mixed-use developments in the Austin area that will include a vibrant street level of shops and restaurants, LGBTQIA+ friendly affordable housing and senior housing, clinical spaces for our partners, and our LGBTQIA+ community centers.
Now we just need the parcels of LAND! Stay tuned!
While our Developer plans to use capital markets to fund these developments, we desperately need your donations to keep our nonprofit organization going.
If you’re excited about what we’re doing, please become a monthly donor of any amount!
Donate to QWELL
ELSEWHERE
North Texas Senior Housing Guide
The Dallas-Fort Worth-based Coalition on Aging has produced a Guidebook to LGBT-Friendly Senior Housing, listing various facilities that meet up to LGBTQ senior expectations. While these facilities are in North Texas, the Guidebook is a good example of what can be done to assist our population in finding the right services for us.
In Face of Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism, 200 Senior Living Communities Commit to LGBTQ+ Inclusion, Participating in Inaugural Long Term Care Equality Index (LEI) by HRC Foundation and SAGE
“LGBTQIA+ Senior Housing Options – The Comprehensive Guide” provides a range of LGBTQIA+-friendly senior housing options, legal rights and protections, and key factors to consider when assessing senior housing options for LGBTQIA+ individuals, such as location, cost, and community atmosphere.
You can find the Guide at https://www.caring.com/caregivers/lgbtqia-senior-housing-options/.
SeniorHomes.com offers a guide with practical advice, solutions, and comfort for LGBTQIA+ seniors searching for their perfect home. It discusses key considerations, offers tips for choosing an inclusive and supportive community, and provides insight into legal rights and protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The guide is intended to empower your audience with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their future.
https://www.seniorhomes.com/senior-living-for-lgbtqia-adults/
AssistedLiving.org has a page about LGBTQ+-friendly Retirement Homes and Nursing Homes across the country. The Assisted Living Institute writes:
In addition to the typical challenges faced by seniors, which may include everything from declining health to age discrimination, those who identify as LGBTQIA+, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex and asexual plus allies, are at risk of further discrimination due to their lifestyle. That added pressure can make it difficult for seniors to seek out long-term care options as they age. The need for a senior living community where they can live alongside peers and receive care from attendants who are accepting of who they are is a serious consideration for those moving into long-term care or independent living communities.
Town Hall Apartments is Chicago’s first LGBTQ-welcoming, 100 percent affordable housing development. It has 79 units. Photo courtesy of Britta Larson
Affordable Housing for LGBTQ Seniors — updated to Dec 2020
Shelterforce website publishes new information about LBGTQ housing projects across the country. Click here…
Dallas Resource Center plans senior housing
Plans underway for LGBTQ Senior Housing