Thirty two organizations across Minnesota are receiving over seven million dollars from the state Human Services Department to help older Minnesotans stay in their homes. Assistant Commissioner Loren Colman says retrofitting homes and other technology is only a small part of it. He says other services include special exercise equipment, improving transportation for older adults, home-delivered meals, chore services, grocery shopping, housekeeping — anything that is relatively low-cost but allows people to live where they want to live.
Colman says the focus is on a growing number of older adults who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. He says there are a “variety of things that could start them on a cycle that creates homelessness that’s difficult to reverse once it occurs” — for example, accidents because of accessibility problems in the home, or difficulty paying rent. Colman says it’s far better to intervene before things get to the point where an older adult becomes homeless.
For more information, check the Senior LinkAge Line.