Older Americans Month: Our Work is More Important then Ever

May is Older Americans Month. Coalition for Home Repair members have helped more than 90,000 low-income older Americans age in place. Coalition members fill an important need in their local communities – and there’s new data highlighting just how important their presence is.

As the Older Americans Act goes unrenewed (review Advocacy Alerts here) and programs like AmeriCorps Senior face cuts, it's more important than ever to communicate the impact of your program. 

New research from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies—specifically the Improving America’s Housing 2025 and Rising Costs of Homeownership Are a Growing Burden reports show that many older adults have lived in their homes for decades — but too often, these homes haven’t kept up with the needs of the people living in them. Without repairs, updates, and accessibility improvements, many homes no longer meet the changing needs of aging adults. And while the desire to age in place is strongly felt, financial constraints and structural challenges are making it harder for many to do so safely and comfortably.

• Low-income households’ cost burdens are at an all-time high. There has been a 3.6 million increase in the number of cost-burdened households since 2019.

  • Between 2019 and 2023, nearly half of the increase in cost-burdened homeowners came from adults 65 and over. Fixed incomes haven’t kept pace with rising property taxes, insurance, and utility bills. For those with limited resources, every home repair decision becomes a trade-off—often with health and safety hanging in the balance.

• The U.S. housing stock is aging—now with a median age of 44 years. Homes built before 1980 demand more frequent repairs and updates to critical systems like roofs and heating, especially as they become less energy efficient and less adaptable to changing mobility needs.

• Older owners with low incomes may be particularly susceptible to inadequate housing because they are more likely to live in older homes that they have lived in for many years. Older homeowners typically have longer housing tenures—well over half (58 percent) of all homeowners age 65 and over have been in their homes for more than twenty years, while roughly half (51 percent) of all homeowners age 80 and over have been in their home for over thirty years.

• There is an increasing number of older homeowners driving demand for accessibility improvements to enable aging in place.

• The remodeling industry faces ongoing challenges such as high costs of building materials and a persistent shortage of skilled trade labor. These constraints can impact the ability to meet the current and future demand for modernizing and preserving the housing stock.

• Racial disparities in income and home equity contribute to differences in average improvement spending and project financing, with homeowners of color being less likely to use home equity for funding. Lower-income owners often defer or forgo critical projects, jeopardizing their health and safety.

• The growing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters have led to an upward trend in homeowner spending for disaster repairs across the country. There is an increasing need for disaster mitigation retrofits to make homes more resilient against hazards.

• Improvements like better insulation, walk-in showers, and no-step entries can dramatically enhance comfort, reduce utility costs, and make aging in place more feasible. Yet, these projects are often postponed or never completed due to cost—even though they could reduce long-term burdens.

Rising housing costs for lower-income homeowners, especially older adults, are creating a greater need for help with essential repairs and home upgrades that make it easier and safer to age in place. For many, a few critical repairs or modifications can mean the difference between staying in their beloved home or facing displacement, isolation, or unsafe living conditions. Programs that offer home repair and modification support are not just helpful — they are lifelines. Yet, these programs remain severely underfunded and inaccessible to far too many who need them most. Strengthening and expanding this kind of support is not just a housing issue, it’s a health, equity, and dignity issue. With the right investment and commitment, we can ensure that growing older doesn’t have to mean growing more vulnerable — but instead, growing older can mean staying rooted, connected, and safe at home.

Modifications for older Americans go beyond just a risk of falls - they can protect generational wealth. Homeownership has been cited as the primary way households build wealth, stability, and community and pass wealth down to future generations. 

Raising awareness for health and housing services for older adults is a priority for the Coalition. In addition, the Coalition will seek resources and invest in professional development for employees of home repair organizations that serve older adults. Since 2022, the Coalition funded Certified Aging in Place Specialist certifications for 60 home repair providers. You can learn more about the current open grant opportunities here.

Is your nonprofit or municipality growing aging in place programs? Consider membership in the Coalition for access to webinars, training grants, and more.

Ideas to Elevate Your Organization During Older Americans Month

• Share a testimonial (or 2 or 3!) of an older adult program participant.

• Share relevant local data to make a case for investment in aging in place programs. Access social media graphic templates here.

• Interview an older adult volunteer to highlight skills-based volunteer opportunities.

• Spotlight staff with any relevant credentials, like CAPS, on social media to build credibility for your program.

• Thank a funder who is passionate about aging in place on social media or send a thank you note.