Seniors, Veterans Are at Risk of Losing Critical Affordable Housing Funding!

 TAKE ACTION NOW!

Call your representative at 1-844-833-9667 or email them   here.

The Florida House Proposes a 62% Reduction in Housing Trust Fund Appropriations

The proposed budgets are out. If the Florida House gets what it wants, there will be little money left for affordable housing programs in FY 2018-19 other than funding for hurricane recovery in communities impacted by the 2017 hurricanes. In stark contrast, the Florida Senate budget proposes full funding for affordable housing.  

Affordable housing funds allow seniors to live independently and with dignity. Local State Housing Inititive Partnership (SHIP) programs have allowed thousands of elderly homeowners to stay in their homes by funding emergency repairs and accessibility retrofits.  Florida Statutes also require 10% of State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) funds to be set aside for rental developments that serve elderly households. Seniors overwhelmingly prefer living in the community to entering nursing homes, and SHIP and SAIL help make this possible while saving the state money.

Affordable housing funds are instrumental in helping veterans find housing solutions. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development fund several programs that help struggling veterans buy or rent homes.  However, these funds do not meet, nor were they designed to meet, the housing needs of all veterans.

These funds are used in every community to help individuals find affordable housing, or modify existing housing to make it handicapped-accessible.  Affordable housing can make the difference between living in the community and living in an institution, or ending up homeless.

Call your Florida Representative  at  1-844-833-9667 and urge them to stop raiding the housing trust fund monies and protect affordable housing. You can also email your Florida Representative by clicking here .

Sincerely,

Jeff Johnson
AARP Florida State Director