Office of Homeless Services: Sarah Peterson - July 30, 2021
This summer, the City of Philadelphia initiated the PEACE (Partners Establishing Accessible, Affordable Housing and Caring for Older Adults Empathetically) program pilot, a public-private partnership with local long-term care and independent living organizations to provide housing and behavioral and physical health services to vulnerable older adults.
Through this pilot, the City will work with an inaugural class of 80 older Philadelphians with histories of homelessness and disabilities who are currently living in City-supported temporary housing, to help them find and move into sustainable housing with the support they need to age safely and improve their quality of life.
The need for this pilot was made clear by the COVID pandemic, which exacerbated the vulnerability of older individuals with chronic diseases who do not have secure housing.
Cross-system innovations and support
The goals of PEACE are to improve coordinated care, expand quality housing choices, offer least-restrictive, safest and most supportive living options for vulnerable older Philadelphians to meet their changing needs as they age. The pilot offers individuals choices among long-term care settings, including options to live together with fellow older residents from OHS- and CBH-funded housing as a naturally occurring retirement community, or NORC.
This partnership creates new processes and systems for vulnerable adults to access more appropriate levels of care. PEACE participants will receive the case management, transportation, social supports, meals, medication management, physical care, and coordinated behavioral health care they need.
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