This might be a good time to explore new options for long-term care for the elderly. I’m thinking about my own locale here in the South Bay Area, but it could be similar elsewhere.
A few factors:
- The massive cost of long-term care, even through social security programs, some of which will use one’s house as collateral for expenses. Elder care expenses are a huge threat to inter generational wealth accumulation.
- The need for realignment in health care jobs. Nurses and therapists may be looking for work that will not expose them to mandates, wokeness, etc.
- Rising cost of real estate has long been making it difficult for kids to stay in the same town as their parents. Now it is also difficult for the grandparents to retire without moving away. This is a doubled up geography problem that may make elder care solutions even more important and desirable than before.
- Sticking with the real estate theme, fewer people have a large enough property to add in a grandma suite of some kind.
- A little more subjective, but I think there’s an increased desire for community with like minded friends and neighbors. We have had time to consider the “bowling alone” problem, and we are ready to do something about it.
A working example is Bethany Home, connected to Zion URC in Ripon, CA.
An example of something to explore: right beside the church that I pastor is a small apartment building. 8 units, currently selling for about 4 million. There is a Safeway across the street, and a church next door. Very walkable neighborhood. If we had the capital and the talent, we could rent these to seniors, and offer nursing or therapy services, driving, some meals, and some community life. Pastoral care and church life would be immediately available.
The residents would benefit from staying in the local area. The community would benefit from having its older members stick around. The church old benefit from having this ministry avenue. The families would benefit from a lower cost and more holistic approach to caring for their elderly parents.
If this were operated through a church, there would be property tax benefits too.
It may not only be elder care. People with disabilities or other needs could benefit from something like this.