By Ayse Akincigil and Uri Amir Koren
Affordable housing for older adults with low income is subsidized by various public entities at the federal, state, and local levels. These buildings are managed by municipal or local housing authorities. In New Jersey, there are 564 municipalities and 105 separate authorities and agencies that administer housing assistance. As a result, data are dispersed across many sources, making it difficult to form a comprehensive picture of New Jersey’s housing landscape.
A collaboration between the New Jersey State Policy Lab and the Rutgers Hub for Aging Collaboration addressed this gap by compiling a census of all housing apartments available for older adults with low income. The census is available to the public to view here and includes a searchable database and an interactive map of New Jersey, representing existing and potential assisted living program sites throughout the state.
This initiative compiles data from diverse public funding sources spanning local, state, and federal levels, inclusive of entities like the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, New Jersey Commission of Affordable Housing, county-level senior services, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Housing Preservation Database.
A complete census of affordable housing would provide the state of New Jersey with crucial insights into geographic distribution, pinpoint underserved regions. It will enable the various levels of the government to make informed decisions regarding zoning, development incentives, and long-term housing strategies. Most importantly, waitlists for affordable housing in New Jersey vary significantly by location. The centralized and comprehensive database will serve older New Jerseyans in need of affordable housing by providing information that covers a wider geography within New Jersey.
Ayse Akincigil is an associate professor at the School of Social Work and Uri Amir Koren is a graduate student at the School of Social Work at Rutgers University.