Middle neighborhoods – those neighborhoods caught between growth and decline – were first developed to provide modestly priced homes to the growing middle class. "Middle neighborhoods provided families with the opportunity to own a home, build community and realize the American Dream," explains Paul Singh, NeighborWorks America's vice president for community initiatives. But many middle neighborhoods are facing serious challenges. Housing stock is aging.

Trees surround the four-story project at 16th and F Streets in Sacramento, California. On that corner, in what's known as the City of Trees, NeighborWorks network organization Mutual Housing is overseeing the construction of its first affordable, LGBTQIA+-welcoming senior housing project. The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the central valley, but leaders hope it won't be the last. 

A pòh poh dons a jacket in a flowery print that screams springtime. A gùng gung wears a fedora and a butterfly tie. The smiling faces of residents of San Francisco's Chinatown and Chinatowns across the United States and in Canada grace the pages of "Chinatown Pretty: Fashion and Wisdom from Chinatown's Most Stylish Seniors," a book by Portrait Photographer Andria Lo and Writer Valerie Luu. 

As the pandemic began, The Primavera Foundation, Inc., in Tucson, Arizona, worked with the city and Pima County to set aside hotel rooms for people experiencing homelessness who needed to quarantine because of exposure to COVID-19 or because they had symptoms. In recent months, staff partnered with Pima County Health Department and El Rio Federally Qualified Health Care Centers to reach out to residents, people living in shelters, and those awaiting housing.

The seniors living in Lackawanna County don't want to leave the homes they've known for years. NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania (NWNEPA) doesn't want them to have to leave either; that's why they formalized an Aging in Place program that began in 2018.

It's often noted that older adults have the highest rate of homeownership. Almost 80 percent of those age 65 and older own their own home. This statistic presents a sense of stability and security for older adults, but it belies reality for many. A gentleman who regularly checks in at an affordable housing community (where I serve on the board) makes this vivid for me. While waiting for a unit to become available, this man lives in a dilapidated basement apartment with boarded up windows because it's all he can afford.