Village on Roeser is one of 25 affordable rent communities owned by FSL. All the complexes are either LIHTC properties or HUD housing. (Photo courtesy of FSL)
PHOENIX – Achee Winnie, 58, is a member of Phoenix’s Justa Center and is on the hunt for a stable job and permanent housing. He’s had multiple injuries that have put him out of work and is the proud owner of three dogs, which has caused various places to turn him away.
The Justa Center, which provides resources and operates as a day center for older adults seeking shelter, is helping him get back on his feet by offering a housing program and providing transportation to his tribal nation for medication.
He admits it has been a struggle.
“It’s a battle. Being 58 right now, there’s really not too much out there to help you out,” Winnie said. “You go to some places and you have to have a drug problem; I don’t have a drug problem. … They want me to get rid of my dogs, and that’s not gonna happen.”
State legislation and local organizations are trying to find fresh ways to tackle an affordable housing crisis for a particular Arizona population – older adults.
The Arizona older adult population grew over 48% between 2010 and 2020. The 65 and older age group is growing twice as fast as the general population, according to a 2024 Arizona State of Housing report from Arizona Research Center for Housing Equity and Sustainability. Physical housing options are struggling to keep up with demand.
Village on Roeser is a LIHTC property, or a building constructed using a low-income housing state tax credit. With the credit set to expire at the end of 2025, future construction plans for affordable housing could be in jeopardy. (Photo courtesy of FSL)
“A lot of the things that are often the solutions to homelessness – increasing wages or maybe finding a higher-paying job or another second job or whatever it might be – just aren’t as easy for folks in that senior age bracket to take on,” said Jamie Podratz, public policy analyst at the Arizona Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that focuses on education and advocacy for people experiencing homelessness.
There’s a myriad of reasons older adults are struggling to secure affordable housing. Reliance on limited income, such as Social Security checks, or an increase in medical expenses can create a strain on older adults’ finances.
“As people live longer, the likelihood of them needing to take a medication every single day increases, and those medications are often very expensive,” said Dana Marie Kennedy, state director of AARP Arizona, a nonprofit that advocates for older adults’ needs.
There have been recent legislative efforts to relieve this financial strain. In January, Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, introduced a House bill to expand the types of nonprofits that qualify for tax deductions on low-income senior housing construction. Podratz said a measure passed last legislative session to allow areas zoned for single-family properties in large cities to build a second accessory dwelling unit, sometimes called a casita.
Another proposed bill would consider land owned by religious institutions eligible for housing development.
There have also been efforts to modify and expand the state low-income housing tax credit, also known as the LIHTC, which is set to expire at the end of the calendar year. The state currently allocates $4 million per year toward this credit, but one bill aims to extend and increase this number to $10 million per year through 2030.
Podratz described the LIHTC as a “critical piece of the finance puzzle” regarding affordable housing.
“The low-income housing tax credit is really an (incentive) for developers to get into this affordability space,” Podratz said. “When you think about multifamily development, it is costly, it is lengthy. … A lot of times, these affordable deals do not get done without the additionality of something like LIHTC.”
Village on Roeser is a LIHTC property in south Phoenix owned by the Foundation for Senior Living, or FSL. The complex is targeted to adults age 55 and older and who earn under 60% of the average median income.
Amy O’Sullivan, FSL senior director of mission advancement, said the property also has games, potlucks and other events to help residents thrive and make the space feel like a home.
Joyce Ann Perkins, 72, is a retired cook from Louisiana who still enjoys making food. She is a resident at Village on Roeser, a low-income housing option for older adults. (Photo courtesy of FSL)
“Loneliness is something that seniors face every single day, and so it’s really important we offer opportunities for our seniors to come here and get to know each other,” O’Sullivan said.
She said the waiting time for an FSL property is typically two to three years. The property currently has around 600 applicants on a waiting list for Village on Roeser and only two open units.
Joyce Ann Perkins, 72, is a Village on Roeser resident who had an accident on the job at 59 years old and retired shortly after. She said she has two daughters who live in Arizona and knew she wouldn’t be able to afford rent after witnessing what they pay.
“I was on the waiting list for about a year and a half, and I lived with my daughter until then, but I picked this area because it’s close to my church,” Perkins said. “And to find out that this rent didn’t have to pay utilities. … Lord, that was a blessing.”
Perkins said she pays just over $550 a month for rent. O’Sullivan said FSL uses private philanthropy to help fill the gap and keep rent prices low for residents.
FSL also has a pilot program on its Avondale property called Change, which provides affordable housing and pairs a community health worker with residents to keep tabs on their health and safety.
“If that program is successful – which we’re expecting it will be – then we’re looking to expand that program to many of our other properties,” O’Sullivan said, “with the goal to ensure that our seniors can thrive throughout the rest of their lives.”