Boston Expands Support for Older Adults Facing Housing Instability

Boston Expands Support for Older Adults Facing Housing Instability

Boston is launching a new effort to keep vulnerable older residents in their homes with the SHORE-UP pilot (“Stabilizing Housing for Our Resident Elders Under Pressure”). This $200,000 program is designed to bridge the gap for seniors at risk of eviction or displacement while they wait for permanent affordable housing.

The pilot provides a temporary subsidy, allowing participants to pay up to 30% of their income toward rent, mortgage, or housing costs, with the program covering the difference. This “bridge subsidy” model is intended to prevent the health and social crises that can come with even short periods of homelessness.

Boston’s senior housing needs are urgent:

• 21% of residents 65+ live below the poverty line.

• About 35% of senior households are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing.

• Nearly 10,000 seniors are on the Boston Housing Authority’s waitlist, despite thousands of units dedicated to older adults.

Through SHORE-UP, Boston aims to help seniors who are on the cusp of receiving long-term affordable housing but need immediate relief to stay in their homes.

The pilot will be shaped in collaboration with the Boston Housing Authority, the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Age Strong Commission, the Mass Senior Action Council, the Mass Coalition for the Homeless, and older Bostonians themselves. Seniors’ lived experiences will guide how the program evolves to best meet community needs.

This work builds on Boston’s anti-displacement plan and other initiatives to stabilize senior housing, such as financial planning services, tax relief efforts, and advocacy for a statewide bridge program for older adults. Since 2022, Boston has also expanded programming for seniors, launched behavioral health and engagement grants, and grown income-restricted housing developments dedicated to older adults—with hundreds of new units recently completed or under construction.

By combining short-term stabilization with long-term housing creation, Boston is taking steps to ensure older residents can age in place, remain in their neighborhoods, and continue to anchor the communities they’ve built.