Senior Health and Wellness Liaison (SHAWL)
HomeSource east tennessee currently owns and manages 150 units of Affordable Senior housing, with 30-60 more units being developed in the next three years. These senior residents do not require the level of care provided by a skilled care facility, but they also need support to continue to live independently. HomeSource assists its tenants by providing a site care coordinator who can help with programming, advocacy, and case management. They work with outside groups to provide services like food banks, financial education, and prayer meetings. With the relatively low cost of providing this basic service to allow these individuals to remain independent (roughly $770 per participant per year), providing this case management seems far more cost-effective than a skilled care facility for those who need support to remain independent. Additionally, most seniors want to maintain independence as long as they can. What is needed is a framework that can be presented to funders that are measurable, goal-specific, and show the benefit to not only seniors but to the financial systems that support them.