A Town of Poughkeepsie apartment complex for senior citizens and people with disabilities has won a federal grant that helps keep people in their own apartment homes.
The Lakeview Arms Senior Citizens Apartments, a 71-unit complex overlooking Morgan Lake on Creek Road, will get $264,185 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to an announcement from HUD.
The property is owned by the California Commercial Investment Group, which applied for the grant. Scott Heaton, director of the management division of the company, said it would enable the hiring of a full-time service coordinator at the site once the contract is signed.Read More...
The way it works, he said, is that people in the apartments are on their own, rather than in a formal assisted-living program, but may still need some kind of help. The coordinator arranges that for them, such as by bringing specialist vendors to the building to help residents.
These typically include various medical services, but also can include personal-care services, cleaners and housekeepers, or help with paying bills or balancing a checkbook, Heaton said.
“Many of them don’t have the economic wherewithal to buy a computer or the ability to learn to use it well,” Heaton said. A coordinator can help conduct such tasks, or find someone who can.
Heaton said his company typically looks for someone with a master of social work degree and a background in gerontology. The position is not yet advertised.
The Lakeview property was built in 1981 and is for people over 62 or with disabilities, or both. It also has income limitations under federal guidelines that vary with local conditions, and the residents must be able to live independently, Heaton said.
The HUD announcement said that a 2008 study it did found “aging in place reduces rates of premature institutionalization for low-income elderly residents, thus reducing the costs borne by taxpayers.”
“These service coordinators help us connect senior citizens and those living with disabilities with the services they need to live independently,” said Mirza Orriols, deputy regional administrator for HUD.
