Innovation Exchange

I have been thinking recently about specific housing support for elderly people after a personal experience with a grandparent.

Often, elderly people have little available funds to move out of a house that has become impractical (size, stairs etc). This is all very well if the person owns the house and can afford to move elsewhere but what happens if they don’t?

Many of these people want to live independently, without having to go into care. Council housing is often woefully inadequate and, if you believe the media, rife with gangs and knife crime – is this really somewhere an 80 year old should be expected to spend their last years?

I am wondering if such a scheme exists for affordable housing, specifically targeted at the elderly? Or if there is some kind of finacial aid available for those in these situations to be able to buy their own property. This is particuarly relevant if their family are unable to support them financially, for whatever reason.

I think some kind of local council intiative is needed to provide fit-for-purpose housing for the elderly. Something that isn’t a nursing home and allows them to live independently and with dignity.