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Cities and providers push statewide bridge subsidy to keep older adults housed while they wait for permanent units
Summary
Somerville’s pilot and Western Massachusetts providers urged lawmakers to expand the older-adult bridge subsidy (S475 / H4015) as an urgent measure to prevent displacement and homelessness among low‑income seniors; witnesses described long housing waits, case examples and municipal tools used while the subsidy is not yet statewide.
Advocates, municipal housing officials and aging service providers told the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs the Commonwealth should expand a Somerville pilot into a statewide older‑adult bridge subsidy to prevent eviction, displacement and homelessness among low‑income older adults.
Somerville officials and their community partners described a small pilot that pays prospective rents and arrears so seniors can remain in their apartments while they wait for long‑term subsidized housing. Ellen Schachter, director of Somerville’s Office of Housing Stability, told the committee her office received 55 older‑adult housing stability requests in two months and that wait lists for affordable units are years long in many places.
Panelists from Western Massachusetts described recent local cases: in Hampshire County’s point‑in‑time count, providers identified dozens of people 65 and older who were homeless or in shelter; advocates reported seniors sleeping outside and a rise in older‑adult homelessness across Berkshires and Franklin counties.
Community Action, Somerville (CAS) reported the pilot has kept nine households that otherwise might have been evicted in place by paying arrears and providing prospective assistance; two of those households moved into permanent affordable housing. Testimony included client statements that the subsidy allowed them to remain in place, save for moving costs and secure offers of permanent units when they arose.
Speakers, including municipal staff and nonprofit providers, said existing tools — RAFT, local flexible rental assistance, legal services and prioritization with housing authorities — help, but caps and program rules leave gaps for older adults who are cost‑burdened or face imminent displacement. Somerville officials described a local priority system that can reduce housing waits for people at imminent risk, but they said not every municipality has that capacity.
Witnesses asked the committee to report S475 / H4015 favorably and to fund program expansion with a steering committee to set allocations and prioritization. Committee members asked about program costs and how priorities would be set; witnesses urged flexibility in subsidy length and caps and stressed the program was designed for immediate relief while permanent housing becomes available.
Ending: Advocates called the bridge subsidy a necessary, immediate tool to prevent older adult homelessness while longer‑term affordable housing and policy changes are developed.
