By Mitzi Beliveau
Rent is high in Minnesota. 50% of my income goes to rent. My rent is one of the cheaper places and safer. (my rent is cheaper than the affordable rent rates in Minnesota) For a senior like myself rent is rising in leaps and boundless. Ever increasing for many Minnesotans. Soon, there will be a large vacancy of rental properties, and the builders and planners will wonder why? People can’t afford them!
My medical costs are 35% of my income. So why can’t I live on the rest of my 15% income for food, utilities, and cell phone? I don’t have a budget for anything else. Savings and retirement money are almost gone. I wonder why? I can still expect to live another 10 -15 years.
The way things are going I maybe one of many living in the tent cities…really! Affordable housing is only for the upper middle class. And not for the low, middle-class, low-income people or seniors. Unless they are millionaires. Be better, Minnesota. Work to help lower-income people with disabilities, too. Low-cost housing is not the same as “Affordable Housing. “
I tried and attended a few meetings for “Affordable Housing” for seniors. The housing builders, community leaders, and other organizations thought multiple housing units without elevators were ok, with no plans for handicapped accessibility housing and no housing for low-income seniors living on Social Security only.
“Affordable Housing” is calculated by a family of four working in that area. With both parents working. I ask the question, how does that relate to seniors and the challenges they face?
I look at the single moms or dads with only one income; how does “Affordable Housing” calculate their payment? Low-income, two-income people, elderly, and vets? “Affordable Housing” does not include building new housing for anyone in this population. No wonder there are more homeless.
So let’s put more people in planning who know who needs low-cost housing so we don’t have so many homeless families, elderly, and vets.
Wisdom of an Elder 