AARP Delaware intends to focus more on housing affordability and accessibility in 2024.
Using data from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH),the U.S. Census, and the Eviction Lab, AARP conducted a 9-year analysis on homelessness and eviction trends in Delaware, starting in 2019 and including predictions up to 2027.
The analysis shows a rise in evictions and homelessness following the pandemic and peaking in 2022. It forecasts a gradual decrease before increasing slightly by 2027.
1,361 people experienced homelessness and 5,016 people were evicted in Delaware in 2022.
723 of those who experienced homelessness and 2,612 of those who were evicted were adults aged 45 and older.
“Almost half of all the homeless people in Delaware are older Delawareans. And so as an organization that advocates for people over the age of 50 and their families, we thought this was an important thing to pay attention to,” explained AARP Delaware Communications Director Kim Wharton.
She says that’s why the organization is targeting the gap in middle income housing.
It sees creating more accessory dwelling units as one key solution.
“And they are these mother in-law suites, or garage apartments, backyard cottages- housing that may be part-of or attached to another larger housing unit,” said Wharton on ADUs.
Kent County passed an ordinance last year that relaxed ADU regulations, and now AARP Delaware is looking to make the expanded use of ADUs a statewide priority.
“Building new units can take a long time. And can be very expensive. And there’s a lot of hoops to jump through,” said Wharton. “So we’re trying to find what we can do right now to alleviate some of the affordability and accessibility issues.”
ADUs are one solution that AARP Delaware will be advocating for, but they intend to look for more creative solutions in 2024.
