{"id":458,"date":"2018-11-30T16:25:46","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T21:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mosaic\/?p=458"},"modified":"2018-11-30T16:25:46","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T21:25:46","slug":"where-is-mom-going-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mosaic\/2018\/11\/30\/where-is-mom-going-to-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is Mom going to live?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The question on many seniors\u2019 minds at a City Hall gathering Friday was where they will live in five, 10 or 15 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Conversations buzzed about this topic as more than 150 seniors filled tables at a forum on housing solutions for middle-income seniors.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A group of seniors work together to discuss affordable housing options for mid-income residents.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m probably looking to create my own situation,\u201d said Eileen Cook, a senior who currently lives in a large house but knows that eventually she will have to move.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a whole bunch of us, the boomers,\u201d said Peggy Edwards, who works with the Council on Aging of Ottawa. \u201cNobody wants to go to long term care. You want to stay independent, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking for, some better options.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Edwards noted there is low-income housing, \u201cbut there\u2019s really no new supportive programs for moderate income, we\u2019re kind of on our own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the needs, financial situations and physical abilities change for seniors, many of them will want or need to move from their home, but there is concern regarding the number of available units that are appropriate, accessible and affordable for the aging population.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the baby boomers age, the percentage of seniors living in Ottawa is increasing. The age 65-plus group now represents approximately 16 per cent of Ottawa\u2019s population. <\/span><\/p>\n

Developers are taking note of this increase in potential tenants and are building residential communities aimed at the senior market, but Tanya Martel notes that the costs of buying or renting these units is high.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The first of three panels discussed housing options at the “My Place to Age” forum.<\/p><\/div>\n

Martel is the property manager of Ellwood House, an independent, non-profit seniors\u2019 development in Alta Vista with about 30 residential units. Ellwood House is subsidized through St. Thomas the Apostle Church, and Martel said the waiting list for these affordable seniors\u2019 units is 217 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to push the government to get off their butts,\u201d Martel said, \u201cbecause all the MPs, they\u2019re all going to be there eventually.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe finally have a national housing strategy and there are opportunities in there for builders and we\u2019d like to see them build some innovative housing,\u201d explained Edwards. The federal government and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has a 10-year, $40- billion plan that aims to create more affordable housing and promote livable communities that are close to amenities and public transportation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our goal to make sure our communities are socially inclusive,\u201d said Vivian Chih of CMHC. Chih explained to the forum that the national housing strategy has the goal \u201cto create 7,000 new units of senior affordable housing\u2026over the next ten years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n