On July 24, Linda Couch, LeadingAge’s senior vice president of policy and advocacy, told a member story during her testimony before the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance of the Committee on Financial Services in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

The story was short but powerful:

In September 2023, St. Margaret’s House, a Manhattan-based LeadingAge member, opened 150 new slots on its waiting list of older adults seeking to rent one of the 249 affordable apartments the organization provides with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than 10,000 older adults applied for those new slots. 

You read that correctly—10,000 applicants for 150 slots.

Clearly, many older New Yorkers are in desperate need of affordable housing. Few anticipated that their wait for housing would be so long. 

Linda told subcommittee members that providers like Claire Guerette, executive director of St. Margaret’s House, were disheartened by their long waiting lists and frustrated by their inability to help more older adults obtain the affordable housing they need. Then, Linda shared LeadingAge’s strong position on this country’s lack of affordable senior housing.

“It is unconscionable for many older adults that, in their greatest time of need, the federal housing safety net is in such tatters,” she told the committee.

I tell you this story to point out three attributes of LeadingAge’s advocacy efforts that were on full display at the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing.

First, the hearing illustrated how well-positioned LeadingAge is as it shares your challenges and concerns with federal policymakers. The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members, but only 19 of those members serve on this subcommittee, which exercises enormous control over U.S. housing policy. Gaining the attention of these influential policymakers was quite an accomplishment.

Kudos to our advocacy team for their hard work in gaining a seat at the witness table. Years of trust-building and relationship-building on our part led to this unique opportunity. The knowledge and skill of our advocacy team helped us make the most of it.

Second, the hearing provided a prominent platform for LeadingAge to live out its mission to be the trusted voice for aging in America. As the only nonprofit organization at the witness table, we brought that trusted voice into a hearing that focused primarily on regulatory barriers to developing market-rate housing. 

While other panelists advocated for increasing the housing supply, we emphasized the need to increase the supply of housing that is affordable to older people with low incomes. We agreed that red tape needs to be reduced, but we emphasized the need to increase public subsidies and support for housing that older people can afford.

Third, the hearing was an important reminder that LeadingAge can only be the trusted voice for aging with the help of our members. 

To prepare for the hearing, the LeadingAge advocacy team called on housing members to share stories about their waiting lists. Members responded with honest and often heart-wrenching tales based on their unwavering efforts to serve older adults who desperately need housing that is in dangerously short supply. 

Congressional representatives need to hear these stories. That’s why LeadingAge’s success on Capitol Hill begins with members like you. 

Together, we amplify the voices of the people we serve. Together, we will succeed in making sure older Americans have access to the housing they need at a price they can afford.