Aging individuals often have difficulty living an uninhibited life. They may experience issues navigating mobility, cognition, attachment to necessary medical equipment, and other challenges. Grants, whether federal, state, or local, provide senior citizens and their families with opportunities to receive the assistance they need.
Financial support, transportation help, and counseling for the loved ones who serve as caregivers are all services that should be included as part of a healthy and comprehensive approach to caring for an aging family member.
Here is an overview of how senior citizen grants can provide everyday relief. Remember—you should check your local area for grants that are specific to your location.
Financial
Seniors are often unable to provide for themselves financially due to a lack of mobility, cognitive decline, or unfamiliarity with the technological skills necessary to maintain a job. Both federal and local grants are available to subsidize many of a senior’s financial burdens, often with requirements that they earn a limited income or hold less than a certain threshold of assets.
Mortgage and Rent
Every older individual needs a place to live. Paying for rent or a mortgage can be a burden. The Homeowner’s Assistance Fund (HAF) is one federal option to provide support, and local grants may allow seniors to create a payment plan according to their financial allowance or apply for a flat-rate grant to lower the payment.
Utilities
Grants such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can offer assistance with utility bills for seniors in a difficult financial position. Not all bills may apply. Most commonly, heating and cooling costs are the primary target to ensure an elder’s safety.
Support for Injured Veterans
Military veterans may qualify to utilize programs such as the Special Monthly Pension to assist in covering the costs of an array of services, such as therapy, recreation, and education.
Health Assistance
In addition to SSI, seniors can receive financial and practical help scheduling doctor’s appointments, subsidizing payments, and receiving other specialized options to support the applicant’s health. The best place to look for grants of this type is your local Agency on Aging.
Dementia
Grants focusing on dementia provide support and care for those unable to care for themselves. The HFC In-Home Care Grant Program offers the Recharge Respite grant, which provides 50 hours of in-home care to seniors with dementia. Those who need more advanced care may qualify for the Extended Relief Respite grant option, which provides 25 hours of care per week for as long as the grant lasts.
Food
Food provision is another way that state and federal grants may provide support of the elderly community. Partnering with farms, stores, charities, nonprofit organizations, and grants can provide supplemental food access so seniors have the nutrition they need to stay healthy. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is one such example on the federal level.
Assisted Living
Those who need more assistance than a family can provide may rely on assisted living to meet their needs. Each state’s Medicaid and Medicare programs will have specific requirements, qualifications, and stipulations for the assistance they provide seniors who utilize these facilities. Many services can be subsidized or paid for outright.
Transportation
Due to limited mobility, vision issues, challenges with confusion, and more, many seniors find transportation difficult—not only for errands and doctor’s appointments but also critical socialization.
The Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility (ICAM) program is just one of the federal government’s efforts to expand access to transportation services at no cost to those who need them. Local transportation services are typically available for seniors as well.
Counseling and Mental Health
Both seniors and their families often struggle with mental health challenges, addiction, and lack of support. At the federal level, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration makes grants available to utilize professional support services.
On a more local level, regional counseling cohorts may provide low or no-cost care to aging individuals and families, often if they can provide a diagnosis or fit a specified set of criteria. These services include caregiver support groups for families to prevent burnout.
Seek Senior Citizen Grants to Simplify the Process of Aging in Place
Getting older is a natural part of life that may present unique challenges, but this does not mean that aging must be difficult. Families and older individuals who make full use of the multitude of grants available can find the support they need for a wide variety of critical life areas, from affording bills to seeking mental health therapy.
The Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia connects families with community resources and grants that can help them. Contact SCNOVA to discover grants available in your area or take advantage of other local services, such as transportation assistance and caregiver support groups.
December 3, 2024, we ask you to please keep the Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia in mind. As a non-profit we rely solely upon the support of community partners, grants and donations. To put your generosity into perspective, remember this, our funds go to enriching the lives of older adults in the communities we serve.