Seniors living at Trinity Park in Livonia are facing significant rent increases and an uncertain future after the nonprofit apartment community announced it is ending its income-based rent program next year.
Dolores Pollington, one of the residents impacted, received a notice in the mail informing her of a $163 monthly rent increase.
"I was shocked because I never lived in a facility that raised the rent that high in a short amount of time," Pollington said.
Pollington said she moved to Trinity Park specifically because of its income-based rent structure. Now, she is unsure how she will manage the added cost on a fixed income.
"I don't know how I'm going to afford it honestly because I only get so much on Social Security and it's going to be half of my Social Security," Pollington said. "How am I going to get groceries, pay for medical expenses, pay for car repairs."
Finding alternative housing is not a simple solution. Pollington said waitlists at other senior housing facilities stretch years into the future. Pollington left a waitlist to move to Trinity park a year ago.
"I'm not sure what they expect us to do because a waitlist on any other senior housing is 2-4 years," Pollington said.
Fellow resident Janice Dixon is facing an $86 monthly increase and is running into the same barriers when searching for alternatives.
"Waiting list. Some of them are closed. It's not even open," Dixon said.
Dixon is struggling to figure out how she will manage bills on her fixed income.
"To me it's just unfair," Dixon said. "Why are they doing us like this? We are elder people."
According to the letter sent to residents, Trinity Park's board members decided to switch to flat rate rent due to rising costs of utilities, insurance, maintenance and inflation. However, an email from state Representative Stephanie Young suggests the nonprofit may also be moving away from federal financing after paying back a HUD loan, which conditions included offering rental rates the same as apartments that were HUD subsidized.
Kirsten Elliot, president and CEO of Community Housing Network, explained that subsidized housing contracts are expiring across the region, creating financial incentives for property owners to shift to market-rate pricing.
"Many of our subsidized housing has been expiring, meaning they had contracts, like a long-term Section 8 contract with the HUD, and many of those are expiring. And so because there is such a need for senior housing, it can be more lucrative to go market rate," Elliot said.
Elliot said the shortage of affordable senior housing is a growing crisis, with waitlists already stretched thin and the senior population continuing to grow.
"The issue with senior housing is only going to be coming more and more prevalent and needed because like I said, our population has been aging rapidly and we are starting to see more and more seniors in the homeless population and that's actually our groest portion of our homeless population our seniors and that's because we have more seniors and we don't have, we haven't increased the amount of units that are available for seniors," said Elliot.
She said the senior population is projected to grow by about 20% between 2020 and 2030.
Elliott recommended residents:
1. Investigate whether they qualify for a "sticky" Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8 voucher) if the property's subsidy is ending.
2. Obtain a list of subsidized senior housing properties through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and immediately join waiting lists.
3. Follow up regularly after getting on those waiting lists.
4. Contact their local Area Agency on Aging for help navigating housing resources and advocacy services.
For Dixon, the situation is stressful, but she is holding on to hope.
"It's sad, you know, nervous wreck but like I said, I'm a true believer in the Lord and like I said God is gone take care of us," Dixon said.
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