Nearly 800,000 Hoosiers are 65 or older; by 2025, that number will reach 1.25 million (or one in every five people living in the state). In fact, seniors over age 65 are the state's only age-defined population that's growing.

Seniors face increasingly specialized and expensive needs, including health care and transportation costs. Rising energy and fuel costs also take a bite out of seniors' budgets. All this combined makes it easy to see why affordable housing for the elderly is so important.

• The national median income for women age 65 and over in 2000 was $10,899; for men, it was $19,168.

• 55,000 aging Hoosier households face mortgage payments that they cannot afford, and 44,000 senior households have rental payments they cannot afford.

• 47 percent of all Hoosiers 65 or older have a disability.

• The cost of an assisted living facility in Indiana averages $3,000 a month. The average cost of a private room in a nursing home in the U.S. is $6,175 a month.

Aging in Place: Better Value and Quality of Life for Seniors

Surveys show that many older Hoosiers desire to "age in place," meaning they wish to remain in their own homes and receive the outside care necessary to continue their independence. Aging in place helps seniors remain self-sufficient, promotes higher quality of life, and encourages dignified independence.

Solutions and Cost Savings

• Owner-occupied rehabilitation, home modifications such as wheelchair ramps, and affordable senior rental housing are all viable solutions to help keep seniors in their homes rather than moving to a nursing home. They can also save money by avoiding high nursing-care fees and care that may exceed a senior's actual needs.

• Approximately 47,000 Hoosier seniors live in nursing homes. Of these, about 26,000 use Medicaid. According to an Illinois study, 20 percent are likely receiving excess services that they do not need based on their level of independence. The Indiana Department of Aging will release a report in July 2006 that will contain estimates of savings that could be realized for this population by shifting from nursing home care to lower-cost supportive living.

• The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has set a goal of moving 1,500 nursing home residents into lower-cost supportive housing within the next twelve months.