Services to provide and improve housing for older adults who are homeless or at risk of being so are among the many programs funded with Live Well at Home grants administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

A total of $7.1 million grants were awarded to 32 organizations providing services and supports that allow older Minnesotans to remain in their homes. Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper announced the grants in November. She visited an Alliance Housing Incorporated building in Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood that serves primarily older Minnesotans with low incomes. Alliance Housing received $700,000 to help build a new 41-unit affordable housing project in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood to serve older homeless adults, a population that is on the rise across Minnesota. In 2015 the number of homeless adults age 55 and older was 843, an 8 percent increase from 2012, according to Wilder Research.

“Minnesota is a national leader in providing long-term services and supports for older adults in part because Live Well at Home grants have helped people stay home as they age, which is what most prefer,” said Piper. “This year we have a greater focus on the expanding older adult population who need housing. For all Minnesotans, safe, affordable housing is fundamental to quality of life.”

Other grants, by agency and county or counties, are:
• Age Well Arrowhead Inc., St. Louis, grocery delivery service and assisted transportation service, $404,434
• Aitkin County CARE, Aitkin, expand and support in-home caregiver respite and homemaking services, $48,551
• Augustana Care, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington, launch Learning Lab for Eldercare Technologies, offering demonstrations of tools designed to help elders stay safely at home, $252,224
• Caregiver Response Effort & Service Team (CREST), Martin, provide services for least 250 additional adults, an increase of 20 percent, $46,727
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Hennepin and Ramsey, $431,544 to serve 50-60 additional older homeless adults through the Homeless Elders program, with case management and secure housing, $431,544
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Winona, Winona, helping 125 older adults live independently through various services, $111,832
• Consumer Directions, Inc, Benton, Crow Wing, Douglas, Isanti, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, and Wright, increasing awareness and participation in self-directed services to help people remain in their homes and maintain good health, $40,124
• DARTS, Dakota, preparation for growing client demand for services, $78,371
• Ebenezer, Hennepin, safety and accessibility improvements at Ebenezer Park Apartments, Minneapolis, $351,000
• ElderCircle, Aitkin, Itasca, Koochiching and St. Louis, expanding service by adding respite and caregiver consulting, $127,199
• Faith Community Nurse Network of the Greater Twin Cities, Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Isanti, Mower, Olmsted, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Sherburne, Wabasha, Washington, Winona and Wright, reducing falls among older adults through the Stepping On program, $207,243
• Family Service Rochester, Olmsted, increasing older adults’ enrollment and active volunteers in a program that helps older adults live independently, $203,783
• Helping Hands Outreach, Morrison, and Stearns, increasing number of older area residents who use home and community-based services and increasing hours of support, $99,999
• Horizon Health, Morrison, proving education about available services that will help people live longer in their homes, with new assessment procedures and education aimed at employers, $192,313
• Korean Service Center, Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington, to expanding the escort/transportation program for Korean elders, $52,400
• Lakes and Pines Community Action Council, Inc., Aitkin, Carlton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine, expanding home delivery of groceries and other items to older adults and people with disabilities, $65,748
• Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Beltrami, Cass, Hubbard and Itasca, building capacity to provide services for older Minnesotans to live in the community and recruit clients for adult day services program, $133,000
• Mahube-Ottawa Community Action Partnership, Inc., Becker, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Otter Tail and Wadena, helping older adults who are homeless, oat risk of becoming homeless, find and keep safe rental housing, $250,000
• Neighbor to Neighbor, Becker, and Otter Tail, to provide transportation, respite, home delivered meals, exercise classes, and household services to prevent nursing home placement, $99,000
• Northwest Community Action, providing volunteer management and respite for caregivers and home modification services for adults 65 and older and volunteer management in Roseau, Kittson, Lake of the Woods and Marshall counties, $220,094
• St. John Lutheran Home, Brown, implementing a TV and mobile-based healthcare delivery system that electronically coordinates care between caregivers and family members, $277,404
• Southwestern Minnesota Opportunity Council Inc., Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, and Rock, home improvements for older adults and service coordination for older adults at risk of homelessness, $226,238
• State Services for the Blind, statewide, expanding the Aging Eyes Initiative training and early vision loss intervention resources to existing aging network providers across Minnesota, $76,000
• Store To Door, Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington, establishing new service models that better meet food needs of under-served elderly adults, specifically older adults in poverty, low-income seniors, including those from the Somali immigrant community and people living in senior housing and assisted living, $181,553
• Sustainable Resources Center, Hennepin, for work on 120 homes to create safer and healthier environments for older occupants, $693,145
• Vision Loss Resources, Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and Wright, providing cost-effective services to help older adults with uncorrectable vision loss increase independence and remain at home, $363,500
• Volunteer Services of Carlton County, Inc., Carlton and St. Louis, transportation, chore, discharge planning, caregiver respite, support and education services, $232,931
• Walker Adult Day Services, Cass, Crow Wing and Hubbard, for a new location with added services and capacity to serve more communities, $375,283
• Waseca Area Caregiver Services, Waseca, expanding
group respite program, $69,997
• Wellspring Faith In Action, Watonwan, developing and maintaining programs for older adult independence, including exercise, grief support, transportation, and light chore services, $84,400
• West Central Minnesota Communities Action Inc., Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens and Traverse, improving quality and availability of transportation services through a partnership with Rainbow Rider, $350,000.