'Grandfamily' Housing Fills a Need in the Housing Market

Carly Stern explains the growth of "grandfamily housing," sharing the experience of one grandmother who relied on Bridge Meadows in Portland, Oregon during a family crisis for a "new multigenerational housing community for older adults with low incomes, adoptive families or 'grandfamilies.'"

More and more older Americans raising their grandchild or other members of their family are "finding a haven" in similar communities, according to Stern.

There are at least 19 grandfamily housing programs with on-site services across the United States, financed by a mix of public and private funding, according to Generations United, a nonprofit focused on intergenerational collaboration. Projects are underway in Washington, D.C., and Redmond, Ore., and lawmakers in the House reintroduced the Grandfamily Housing Act, which would create a national pilot program to expand grandfamily housing.

According to the article, the pandemic has exposed the lack of housing options in the United States, even as the number of households headed by a person age 65 or older is increasing. "An estimated 2.3 million grandparents are primary caregivers," according to Stern. The opioid epidemic is also creating the need for more "grandfamily" arrangements, according to the article.

Advocates for this kind of multi-generational housing are drawing attention to the obstacles to financing that can limit the potential of grandfamily housing projects.