By Gwen Davis

Seattleites in their golden years of life deserve quality housing opportunities. Fortunately, even though the city is grappling with a housing and homelessness crisis, several organizations exist that provide seniors with varied living options, especially tailored for their needs.

Westside Neighbors Network

The new Westside Neighbors Network aims to create a multigenerational "village" so members can gain social connections and support from their neighbors in order to age in their homes. Members meet up with each other for day activities, share referrals for service providers, offer each other rides to appointments, and support one another.

“The folks who come to a village are looking for a web of relationships, not just services," said founding member Judie Messier. "It’s what an actual village used to be – if I fell down, there would be someone to catch me. That feeling of being at risk of falling down with no one to catch you is very common these days.  All people of all ages have that feeling and what a village does is provide you with the knowledge that there’s a support network – I know that if I need it, it will wrap itself around me.”

The network offers two types of membership. Social memberships are $200, and allow for participation in social and educational events and activities that build and support connectedness and friendships. Full memberships are $400, and also allow members to request and receive help from other members.

Full members are additionally able to refer service providers, and form intentional households with each other.

 “Let’s say you have someone living in a big house all by themselves,” but who wants the safety and companionship of living with others, Messier said. As full members, they’d be able to connect with other members — who are already vetted — to form new households.

"This provides an intermediary step between living by yourself and being in dire straits and warehoused somewhere,” she said.

The network started in 2014 when a group of West Seattle neighbors were interested in creating a village service, similar to what exists in other areas. In the summer of 2016, the group put on an outreach campaign to see if others in West Seattle were interested. After collecting over 100 surveys, the group determined that yes, enough people were interested, and made it official. In July, the Westside Neighbors Network gained its 501(c)(3) status. 

No one is turned away due to inability to pay membership — the network is willing to work with people to find alternative payment plans.

“People can get services from different organizations, but the person needs to do all the leg work to find out where everything is," Messier noted. "But if you’re ill and in dire straits, that’s not the time to try to figure it all out. But in a village, if you’re in the hospital, the village is there."

Arrowhead Gardens

But the West Seattle area offers other types of housing resources for seniors, as well.

The nonprofit SHAG (Senior Housing Assistance Group) provides affordable housing and community to seniors. Arrowhead Gardens, the SHAG facility located in West Seattle, has 449 apartment units and serves 500 residents.

Jay Woolford, executive director of SHAG, said there are many benefits to living in a SHAG community.

"I think a lot of people chose to live in a SHAG community for a few reasons," Woolford said. "One is where SHAG communities are located. We’re generally in quick transportation lines and close to community services and neighborhood shopping."

Woolford also said people are drawn to SHAG because of the community.

"Residents enjoy the sense of community we create," he said. "Most people chose to live in a SHAG community because of the social environment, the activities going on and amenities like arts and crafts rooms and the multimedia center."

Additionally, SHAG is affordable and has strict income limits. In order to qualify for Arrowhead Gardens, an individual cannot earn more than $40,320 per year, and a two-person family cannot earn more than $46,080 per year.

"Our funding predominately comes from a federal program called the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, which was started by the federal government back in the late 1980s to create a public and private partnership to  promote the development of affordable housing," Woolford said. "We’ve effectively utilized it throughout the course of our existence, using tax dollars in conjunction with long-term financing that are done through bond financing." 

More services needed

However, despite these programs, more housing services are needed for this vulnerable population.

According to Aging and Disability Services, nine percent of seniors in King County are living in poverty. In addition, over one-third has a disability, and more than 75 percent have one or more chronic conditions. Nearly 35 percent of women live alone, and a quarter of King County's seniors are people of color.