Oct. 27 - Homelessness Prevention Pilot Program Moving Forward With San Diego Foundation Grant
October 27, 2021
Contacts: Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, Fellow PRSA – Serving Seniors,
619-997-2495 or GLF@SAN.RR.COM
Homelessness Prevention Pilot Program Moving Forward With San Diego Foundation Grant
SAN DIEGO, California – Serving Seniors received $30,000 in funding from the San Diego Foundation, allowing the organization to proceed with a new Homelessness Prevention Pilot Program. The program will provide limited monthly financial support and case management assistance to low-income older adults who are on the brink of homelessness.
Commonly referred to as a ‘shallow subsidy,’ it was among the key findings and recommendations in the recently released report Senior Homelessness: A Needs Assessment. The report revealed significant differences working with older adults experiencing homelessness as compared to the general adult homeless population. The corresponding solutions must be crafted to specifically address this distinct population. The report is now available on the Serving Seniors website.
“One in four people experiencing homelessness in San Diego is over 55 years old, and this population demographic is growing,” said Paul Downey, President/CEO of Serving Seniors. “Our report showed there are readily achievable solutions we can implement immediately at low-cost in an older adult’s lifetime. The San Diego Foundation grant could not come at a better time to put this initiative to the test.”
The San Diego Foundation announced today awarded $315,000 in total grants to 11 nonprofit organizations including Serving Seniors leading local efforts to support and improve quality of life for older San Diegans.
“With our partners, the Age-Friendly Communities initiative envisions a region where people of all ages are engaged, valued and afforded equitable opportunities,” said Katie Rast, Director of Community Impact at The San Diego Foundation. “Recognizing that in 2020 nearly a quarter of all San Diegans experiencing homelessness were over the age of 55, the most recent round of grantmaking reflects a regional strategy that includes housing, along with health and transportation to support equity in aging.”
With nearly one-third of older Californians experiencing economic insecurity and struggling to afford basic needs, expanding access to services that support older adults is a critical need throughout the region.
Serving Seniors intends its Needs Assessment report to foster a greater understanding of the direct experience of seniors facing homelessness, and to initiate broader discussions on how to invest in practical, immediate, and permanent solutions to homeless services infrastructure to benefit San Diego’s low-income seniors today - not tomorrow when it is too late.
About Serving Seniors
Founded in 1970, Serving Seniors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Diego, California, dedicated to serving low-income adults aged 60 and over. A leader in senior advocacy and programming, Serving Seniors has created an innovative model of comprehensive services including nutrition meals, housing, health and social services and lifelong learning opportunities to hundreds of seniors in need. It is the largest provider of meals to seniors in the county, and one of the only organizations in the nation providing a robust range of services to vulnerable, at-risk older adults.
Serving Seniors President and CEO Paul Downey has been instrumental in the organization’s growth over the past 26 years. Since being appointed the role in 1995, Downey has guided the nonprofit’s innovative efforts to provide supportive services focused on keeping low-income seniors healthy and independent. Under Downey’s leadership, Serving Seniors has grown to provide more 1.7 million nutritious meals and coordinated services to 7,000 older adults each year. Read Serving Seniors’ groundbreaking 2021 report, Senior Homelessness: A Needs Assessment.
