San Diego is a huge, huge, huge, city. There are so many different people and places that can be seen throughout each city in San Diego. Through the Life Course Scholar Program, I was given the opportunity to visit different senior centers that offer affordable housing for seniors who reside within San Diego. Each housing option had their own personality, no two were alike. Many of the centers originally had a difference purpose before they became senior centers, for example, Celadon was a parking lot and New Palace Hotel was a hotel. Many of the housing centers were surrounded by a bus stop and a convenient grocery store, with sidewalks for seniors to saunter on. In addition, many of the buildings had architectural styles that did not make them appear as senior centers, more so as apartment or business complex, that blend within the community surroundings. On the tour, we were able to tour two very different affordable senior housing options, the Sara Francis Hometel and North Park Senior Apartments. Because the housing had different price, it reflects the overall presentation of the housing opportunity available for the seniors’ base on their income level. At the Sara Francis Hometel, it was originally a hotel and you can make that assumption as you tour the place. It is not an ideal housing for seniors, but unfortunately some seniors are only able to afford this housing. Because the center is a transitional housing- for anyone, not just senior, but they do occupy majority of the space, they do offer some amenities such as a bed and microwave and being close to Potiker Family Senior Residence allows seniors to receive at least two free meals daily by Serving Seniors. Whereas, at the NorthPark Senior Apartments, there is a difference between the places. This housing option is San Diego’s first affordable housing for LGBTQ+ seniors. I love the structure of this place because you know that they thought about different features that could make it easier for seniors to maneuver throughout the space. Each floor were different colors so senior can recognize if they were on the correct or wrong floor and the doorbells were different base on a difficulty the senior may have. Little features such as these can make a difference in the experience for seniors. Base on the senior’s income level, it can determine what housing option is available for them to rent, which affects their overall experience, health, and services.
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ALISA HULWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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