Program Area: Social Research, Policy, and Practice
Nancy Berlinger, PhD
Research Scholar
Research
The Hastings Center
Garrison, New York, United States
Nancy Berlinger, PhD
Research Scholar
Research
The Hastings Center
Garrison, New York, United States
Ian Johnson, PhD, LCSW
Assistant Professor
School of Social Work
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Karen Zurlo, PhD, MSW
Associate Professor
School of Social Work
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Samara Scheckler, PhD
Research Associate
Joint Center for Housing Studies
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Older adults have been the most vulnerable population to severe illness, hospitalization, or death from COVID-19. During the pandemic, housing became a site of health and safety for some, while reinforced inequities for others due to underlying problems of affordability, accessibility, safety, and service access. This symposium showcases five housing-focused studies reflecting the pandemic context, including research by early-career investigators. The first speaker will present findings from a study of materials preserving promising practices and policy ideas generated by housing-focused pandemic responses to middle-income and low-income community-dwelling older adults. The second speaker will discuss narrative lessons from “avoidance hotels” – an infection-reduction strategy that transferred older adults from shelters to hotel rooms – with potential to guide planning for the needs of older adults facing homelessness and serious illness. The third speaker will analyze findings from multi-city research on the pandemic housing experiences of lower-income Black women, who faced severe intersectional threats to housing security. The fourth speaker will share data from a qualitative study of a Medicare-financed home care program for residents of HUD housing, including recommendations for improving experiences of participants and providers. The fifth speaker will describe the evolution of the pandemic-response roles of HUD service coordinators, based on findings from surveys in 2020 and 2021. We will conclude with audience discussion about ways for age-focused researchers to collaborate in crafting policy solutions and effective public narratives about housing equity in America's aging society.
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Nancy Berlinger, PhD – The Hastings Center
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Ian Johnson, PhD, LCSW – University of Tennessee
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Karen A. Zurlo, PhD, MSW – Rutgers University
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Samara Scheckler, PhD – Harvard University