Ageing Populations and Housing Needs: Comparing Strategic Policy Discourses in France and England

Set against a broad European policy agenda which promotes ‘ageing in place’ and representations of older people as active, independent citizens, this article compares recent English and French policy discourses on population ageing and its implications for the housing needs of increasingly large numbers of older citizens. Through analysis of six recent strategic policy statements representing each government's official responses to population ageing and its social policy implications for the 21st century, we demonstrate how differences in the social representation of the ageing process and of older peoples themselves permeate policy discourse, influencing the perceptions of the housing needs of older citizens and the role that housing itself may play in promoting independent living. In England, demographic ageing, housing and its role in facilitating independent living and active ageing are explicitly articulated, whilst in France, the housing environment has until recently, been portrayed as one which must accommodate the illness, incapacity and dependency of later life. Our article offers explanations for these differences in terms of cultural variations in the social representations or ‘constructions’ of later life, divergences in political philosophies and welfare principles.     

Contentment and Suffering: the Impact of Australia's Housing Policy and Tenure on Older Australians

Housing policy in Australia historically has focused on facilitating homeownership and creating some buffer for those households that are not homeowners. This paper explores the implications of this policy for older Australians. What is argued is that housing tenure has become a crucial divide and that older Australians who have not had the good fortune to access homeownership or public / community housing and who are dependent on the private rental sector as a result, often find themselves in desperate circumstances. The argument is developed that the failure to put in place a housing policy which would give all citizens the ability to access adequate and affordable housing, has led to a situation where a substantial and increasing number of older Australians have untenable housing costs and minimal disposal income. The article concludes that the present policy initiatives aimed at addressing the housing affordability crisis will have little impact on the situation of older people who are currently in housing stress.     

Sheltered Housing and Community

This paper considers the role of sheltered housing following the introduction of new community care arrangements in 1993 and examines the continuing uncertainty about its exact role as community care continues to develop. It reports on a study conducted in Shropshire, using a postal survey and interviews with older people and service professionals. The study highlights the importance of sheltered housing for older people, particularly in relieving them of concerns about maintenance and repairs, social isolation and security. These factors were crucial for their overall peace of mind and quality of life. While only a small proportion of tenants received help under social services' community care arrangements, the additional support, monitoring and service coordination provided by wardens helped some of them to remain in sheltered housing when residential or nursing home care might otherwise have been necessary. Sheltered housing was overwhelmingly popular with older people — but their satisfaction was closely associated with the availability and quality of the warden service. Although sheltered housing is not currently in vogue in housing policy, the paper argues that it plays a vital role in local provision for older people and needs to be more closely integrated into community care policy, while at the same time preserving the characteristics that make it popular with its residents.     

Approaches to Homelessness Policy in Europe, the United States, and Australia

Workable and effective policies addressing homelessness need to be based on a clear definition of homelessness. This overview of recent policies in the European Union, the U.S., and Australia shows that, even at the very basic level of being able to define and enumerate the homeless, policy approaches are extremely variable. Research indicates the growing significance of the "new homeless," consisting of families, women, and children. Homelessness also needs to be seen as something dynamic that may involve movement into and out of housing and other supports over time. Older policies that address only limited kinds of homelessness and which do not recognize the dynamics involved are likely to be less effective. "Good practice" policy incorporates these changing understandings of homelessness by addressing the housing, psychological and social needs of the homeless, as well as integrating across programs and increasing independence through capacity building .     

Eldercare Service Redesign in Finland: Deinstitutionalization of Long-Term Care

ABSTRACT

Deinstitutionalization is an important trend in the redesign of long-term eldercare in Finland. It refers to a process where traditional institutional care is partly replaced by home care services and the creation of homelike housing units. The first part of this article provides an overview of eldercare service redesign by using national statistics. The second part consists of qualitative analysis of the deinstitutionalization of eldercare. The data consist of 27 interviews conducted among municipal care administrators and is analyzed using thematic and discourse analysis. Main findings show a deep policy change taking place in eldercare deinstitutionalization discourse lying at its center. A distinction between explicit and implicit deinstitutionalization discourse is made. The former clearly states that institutional care needs to be cut back making it possible for all older people to live at home or in homelike housing facilities. Implicit deinstitutionalization discourse is underpinned by comments of a different type, more critical and problem-centered. Within intensive service housing, for instance, fee policy is reformed. The main results include the observation that explicit deinstitutionalization discourse is in line with the national policy aims of putting home first, while implicit discourse deals with hidden or unexpected consequences. The article discusses future research in the conclusion.     

Latino Phenotypic Discrimination Revisited: The Impact of Skin Color on Occupational Status

Objective . We reexamine the issue of phenotypic discrimination against Mexicans in the U.S. labor market, originally studied by Telles and Murguia (1990) and later by Bohara and Davila (1992). We also seek to explain this topic with respect to the Puerto Rican and Cuban populations in the United States. Methods . Instead of using household income as a dependent variable, we use occupational ranking scores computed by Hauser and Warren (1996) in combination with data from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey (LNPS). The occupational rankings more accurately reflect the level of labor market discrimination faced by individuals. Furthermore, the use of the more recent LNPS allows us to update the work of previous scholars and extend the analysis to two previously unexamined Latino groups—Puerto Ricans and Cubans. Results . Our findings indicate that darker-skinned Mexicans and Cubans face significantly lower occupational prestige scores than their lighter-skinned counterparts even when controlling for factors that influence performance in the labor market. However, we find no conclusive evidence that skin-color differences impact occupational prestige scores for Puerto Ricans. Conclusions . Using earlier data, some scholars found evidence for difference in labor market performance among Mexican Americans as a function of phenotypic variations among Mexican Americans. Today, dark-skinned Mexican Americans and Cuban Americans continue to face higher levels of discrimination in the labor market, whereas dark-skinned Puerto Ricans do not, which may indicate regional differences across the three groups that need to be controlled for.     

The Complexities of Elder Homelessness,a Shifting Political Landscape and Emerging Community Responses

Despite their growing numbers, homeless older adults remain largely invisible in society and there has been a pervasive lack of public focus on elder homelessness. In this article, we seek to shine light on this forgotten population and deepen understanding of difficult challenges they confront in regaining housing security. We also examine the shifting political climate regarding homelessness, particularly the enactment and subsequent reauthorizations of the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and how these shifts are influencing community responses to elder homelessness. Finally, future challenges and policy directions for breaking the cycle of elder homelessness in the U.S. are discussed.     

Creating Supportive Environments for LGBT Older Adults: An Efficacy Evaluation of Staff Training in a Senior Living Facility

ABSTRACT

Supportive housing later in life tends to be a key concern for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders. Most senior care providers are un(der)prepared to meet the needs of older LGBT adults. This study evaluated the efficacy of a 4 hours, face-to-face, research-based, LGBT-diversity training designed to improve senior housing facility staff’s cultural competency regarding the needs of LGBT elders. Findings from this study found a significant increase in LGBT content knowledge between pre- and post-intervention assessments and a significant decrease in perceived preparedness when working with LGBT elders. These effects remained significant after controlling for staff designation, religion, educational attainment, and training session. Findings suggest that staff’s cultural competence affected their perceived readiness to address LGBT elders’ needs. Implications are related to the concept of cultural humility or the lifelong process of understanding others’ experiences based on the recognition of lack of un(der)preparedness to create a culturally supportive residential environment.     

Recent public policy and Australian older workers

This article considers the characteristics and utility of pro‐work policies targeting Australian older workers that have emerged in the context of population ageing, amid concerns that this will lead to labour shortages and an increasing social welfare burden. There has been a recent surge in public policy regarding the ageing workforce, the efficacy of which has not been tested by evaluation studies. After considering the conceptual foundations and objectives of various government initiatives, it is argued that the present public policy approach may have serious flaws that are not only detrimental to the stated overall objective of prolonging working lives, but may, in fact, be harmful to older workers and fail to address the needs of business. This stems from programs reaching only a small proportion of those older people who would potentially benefit from assistance, and from misdirected effort aimed at encouraging behavioural change on the part of employers or industries. It is argued that there is a need for greater targeting of policy efforts on the actual needs of industry and for public policy itself to become more age‐aware.     

“十一五”期间北京市保障性住房体系总体评价和未来发展设想

本文从北京市住房保障政策与总体思路、建设与供给、审核与退出三个角度出发,分析了"十一五"期间北京市保障性住房的发展现状。在"十一五"期间,北京市住房保障工作思路明确、体系完整、力度强劲、供应体系层次分明。"十二五"期间,北京市住房保障工作应着重于加大工作力度、优化供应结构、完善管理制度和拓宽融资渠道四个方面。     

Creating elder-friendly communities: preparations for an aging society

Because many communities where older people live were not designed for their needs, older residents may require support to remain in the least restrictive environment. "Age-prepared communities" utilize community planning and advocacy to foster aging in place. "Elder-friendly communities" are places that actively involve, value, and support older adults, both active and frail, with infrastructure and services that effectively accommodate their changing needs. This paper presents an analysis of the literature and results of a Delphi study identifying the most important characteristics of an elder-friendly community: accessible and affordable transportation, housing, health care, safety, and community involvement opportunities. We also highlight innovative programs and identify how social workers can be instrumental in developing elder-friendly communities.     

Alternative Housing

Many types of housing for older people that do not fit into traditional categories have been proposed, and some have been activated. A number of models are discussed, including the boarding/rooming house, cooperatives, house-sharing arrangements, hotels, mobile homes, community housing, the "granny flat," group homes, and foster homes. The ways in which each housing type meets basic residential needs are considered, including needs for a familiar environment, independence, privacy, personal security, social interaction, and social support. Most alternative housing models are of low appeal, solutions that are turned to either when other alternatives are unavailable or when personal needs happen to fit a particular alternative especially well. For both reasons, it is important to understand and foster the development of such alternatives, even if the numbers served will never be really large.     

The unregulated private rental sector and the impact on Israeli housing market

Israel’s rapid population growth, deriving from its unique demographics, is generating a consistent rise in the demand for residential housing. The low interest rate environment in Israel since the beginning of the last decade has also contributed to the rise in demand for housing, which exceeded the available supply and led to a continuous rise in the price of housing. The various government programs all attempted to halt the rising prices, with no long-term success, if any. Policymakers focused on making ownership of housing affordable for young couples but directed their activity at repressing the demand for housing among investors and housing upgraders. This interpretive article focuses on analyzing Israel’s housing policy and indicates the built-in failure engrained in this policy, as the demand for housing in Israel is a rigid demand deriving from the country’s demographics and values and therefore attempts at repressing it are futile in essence. The housing policy aimed at making housing affordable for young people must examine, before it is finalized, their overall incentives to own housing on one hand and the obstacles they encounter that prevent them from opting for rentals on the other, and accordingly formulate the features and different terms of the policy. The research conclusion indicates the need to implement a public policy that will promote the rental alternative as an efficient way of meeting the demand for housing on one hand and of curbing the price of housing on the other.     

Content Themes in Group Treatment with Puerto Rican Women

This papcr discusses an empirical observation of the thematic content in a cognitive-oriented group treatment. Clients were low socioeconomic Puerto Rican women who were assessed as depressed. Preliminary findings indicate that the discussed themes included interpersonal relations, children, spouse, mental symptoms, family of origin, and culture shock. Such themes bear a relationship to Puerto Rican cultural values such as personalismo and marianismo. The author concludes that group practice is applicable and effective when treatment is linguistically and culturally syntonic with the needs of Puerto Rican clients.     

Puerto Rican Elders' Knowledge and Use of Community-Based Long-Term Care Services

We conducted 3 focus groups with 28 Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican elders to explore their knowledge and use of community-based long-term care services, including an exploration of whether their residential setting influences access to services. Analysis revealed themes relating to participants' difficulties and frustrations with formal services. A major theme was a reliance on formal services, given a lack of reliable familial help. Elders living in Latino senior housing reported the greatest access to services, with availability of Spanish-speaking housing staff and informal support from neighbors serving as critical components of their social networks. Practice and policy recommendations are provided.     

Allocating Homes for People with Intellectual Disability: Needs,Mix and Choice

Allocation of housing and support services for people with intellectual disability is based on three major sets of criteria: an assessment of the applicants' needs; considerations of social mix; and the applicants' own choices. This article examines the philosophical and institutional rationales underlying each of these notions and the tensions arising when seeking to achieve a balance between them. The first section of the article is based on a review of related studies in the UK, the USA and Australia, mainly on allocation policies in mainstream social housing. The second section presents original empirical work carried out in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 2007–08, illustrating some of the implications of a new balance that was created between needs, mix and choice in allocation of housing and support for people with intellectual disability. The article argues that the concepts of needs, mix and choice should be redefined in a way which reflects the interdependencies between them. Further, the article calls for more extensive mutual learning between studies of mainstream social housing and housing for people with intellectual disability.     

Characteristics of the Westernization of College Students' Mentality in Modernizing Countries

In their book, Glazer and Moynihan analyze the life of the very largest ethnic groups comprising the population of New York today. Analysis of the social and ethnic life of a capitalist metropolis is of great interest for the ethnographic and sociological study of urban populations in general, although New York cannot be regarded as either an average or even a typical city. It is, rather, that extreme case in which general laws are most vividly manifested. Suffice it to say that nearly one-half the population of New York, according to the census of 1960, comprises emigrants from various countries, chiefly European, plus their children, while 8% are Puerto Ricans and 14% are Negroes.     

Older family-carers' views on the future accommodation needs of relatives who have an intellectual disability

Over the past 20 years, research across the developed world has identified trends towards ageing of the population with learning/intellectual disability. Alongside is the recognition that family-carers are also ageing. Recently, the UK government has sought to identify the future housing needs of dependents with intellectual disability residing with older carers. Consequentially, a city council commissioned this qualitative study involving 28 older carers. The findings indicate a need for information about housing options, a lack of practical support and feelings of marginalisation. The conclusions suggest key roles for social services in providing proactive support and advice to family-carers, and a greater degree of joint working between social services departments and housing agencies. These resonate with similar international studies and provide the opportunity to focus on the perspectives of family-carers. Their experiences are real, and if welfare professionals are to work with people with intellectual disability and their family-carers, acknowledging their views is essential.     

Addressing older women's homelessness: service and housing models

There is limited understanding of the nature and extent of older women's homelessness in Australia and how it can be alleviated. The aim of this project is to ascertain the combination of program and housing models that is likely to be most effective in addressing older women's homelessness. The data comprise interviews and correspondence with 14 Australian and international stakeholders. The findings draw on insight from housing, gerontology and gender studies, and highlight the need to match welfare and housing programs with the diverse life experiences and current needs of older women. Alongside flagship models of practice in housing provision are assumptions within housing and homelessness sectors of what older women need. There is a lack of understanding that most older women in housing crisis have limited knowledge of the welfare sector, and with provision of mainstream housing (and community aged care if needed) will live independently. Traditional homelessness programs and specialised supportive housing, associated with both seniors and homelessness sectors, are appropriate for women who have lived with ongoing disruption and substantive health concerns. Addressing older women's homelessness in Australia requires a range of services and housing responses, with increased attention given to a discourse of housing – affordable, secure housing – rather than continued discourse of homelessness.