In a move to tackle the housing instability faced by Boston's aging population, Mayor Michelle Wu has unrolled the SHORE-UP pilot, investing $200,000 to support senior residents struggling to keep their homes. According to a press release from the City of Boston, SHORE-UP, standing for "Stabilizing Housing for Our Resident Elders Under Pressure," aims specifically to bridge the gap between the time seniors are at risk of eviction and when they can securely access subsidized housing. "Our older residents have built Boston over their decades of leadership and neighborhood activism, and they continue to anchor our communities," Mayor Wu said, underlining the importance of keeping older adults rooted in their neighborhoods.
The program comes at a crucial time, as statics reveal more than a third of senior-led households in Boston are severely cost-burdened, committing over half of their meager incomes to housing expenses. Meanwhile, waiting lists for affordable housing stretch long, with approximately 10,000 seniors over 65 currently queued up for the Boston Housing Authority's support. SHORE-UP will help to swiftly stably keep those eligible seniors in their homes, aiming to prevent the negative health impacts that often follow when elders face sudden homelessness.
The City of Boston, including the Mayor's Office of Housing, Age Strong, and the Planning Department are working alongside partners like the Mass Senior Action Council, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), and various non-profits to shape this pilot, as detailed by the City of Boston. Linda Freeman from the Mass Senior Action Council expressed her enthusiasm about the initiative, telling officials, "We appreciate the Wu Administration for making it a priority to ensure seniors who helped build this city are not pushed out of their homes and community."
Those participating in SHORE-UP will contribute no more than 30% of their income towards their housing-related costs, with the pilot subsidy program filling in any additional financial gaps. "The most difficult part of our work is the gap between how many people on our waitlist need an affordable home and how many we can serve," shared BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok on the City of Boston, highlighting the program's potential to critically aid older adults until more permanent housing becomes available.
Moreover, the initiative complements a series of recent efforts by Mayor Wu and the Age Strong Commission to bolster the wellbeing of the city's elder inhabitants. Since 2022, they've amplified social programs for seniors, expanded the Older Adult Property Tax Work Off Program, and have been pushing for increased affordable housing, with 439 income-restricted units specifically earmarked for older adults now completed and another 315 under construction.
