The Commons in Lincoln, a Benchmark Senior Living continuing care retirement community in Lincoln, MA, will provide emergency housing for older residents of the town who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, under a new collaboration with the Lincoln Council on Aging.
Through the Staying at Home in Lincoln project, temporary housing will be provided at the CCRC as appropriate as long as space is available, while social services staff from the town of Lincoln arrange for permanent housing and any other needed services. Area hotels or motels, assisted living communities and other supportive housing are additional settings where housing may be provided.
“The Commons in Lincoln is invested in the community, and this partnership with the COA is an example of that commitment,” Reynaldo LeBlanc, campus executive director at The Commons, said in a statement. “We want to help Lincoln and its residents to work to stem homelessness.”
The Commons in Lincoln is providing funding for the collaboration. The CCRC and COA are developing a model for the program.
Elder abuse and domestic violence, mental illness or physical disabilities, natural disasters and other “extreme” situations are resulting in an increase in town residents who are homeless or close to being homeless, according to Benchmark and the COA.
“We are fortunate in Lincoln to have amazingly dedicated volunteers, staff and private partners who have taken the initiative to address a whole host of increasing social services needs,” said Tim Higgins, Lincoln’s town administrator. “This new partnership with the Commons is further evidence of our community’s determination to help people in need and to be resourceful in the effort.”
