Chapter 46 In Search of . . The Golden Girls . . : Why Is Affordable , Adaptable , and Assisted Housing for Older Women So Hard to Find ?

Sharon M. Kelgher, Ph.D., A.C.S. W., is associate professor ofSocial Weffare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She previously taught at the University of Michigan and received her degree from the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, In 1985. Her policy analyses of home-care services from a feminist perspective include coauthorship ofWages for Caring: Compensating Family Care o! the Elderly (Praeger Press, 1992). Her study, Housing Risks and · Homelessness among the Urban Elderly (Haworth Press, 1991) examines the needs ofelders in Chicago who experienced housing­ related emergencies. The paper in this volume reflects research conducted for the National Older Women's League in 1991 and was supported by the Gerontological Society ofAmerica's Technical Assistance Program. Housing i~ a serious problem for many older American women. The problem varies among different popula­ tions and communities, as do the policy options and potential solutions. This paper presents an overview of the housing problems confronting mid-life and older women. Originally developed for the Older Women's League, it is intended to assist women and their advo­ cates in assessing housing issues confronting individu­ als and their communities. To identify key issues facing women, it draws from the growing literature on housing and older people, the smaller literature on the housing needs of women, and policy discussions with national housing advocates, researchers, and older women concerned about housing.