SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Mercy Housing California with the Institute on Aging and the San Francisco Department of Public Health were selected to partner in a national initiative to create strategies that improve quality of life for senior residents while producing cost savings to the health and long-term care systems. Developed by LeadingAge and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise), the Learning Collaborative will engage 12 teams of senior housing organizations and service providers to develop and refine housing and health care models over a two-year period. Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) is also participating in the effort, providing strategic policy support to the teams.

“Mercy Housing is honored to be selected to participate in the Learning Collaborative,” said Doug Shoemaker, Mercy Housing California President. “Our local partnership with the Institute on Aging and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, along with the other participating team partnerships, will improve the quality of life for seniors locally and across the country.”

Through the Learning Collaborative, teams will explore components of housing with services strategies such as partnership development, operations, financing mechanisms, outcome measurement, data collection systems and processes, and policy and regulatory changes. The Learning Collaborative model highlights peer-to-peer education, harnessing the vast expertise among the participants.

“At a time when our senior population is growing more rapidly than ever before, and public resources for affordable housing and services are shrinking, it is vital that we take the necessary steps to support innovation, identify successes, and encourage the adoption of these emerging successful models,” adds Terri Ludwig, president and CEO, Enterprise.

The 12 participating teams in the Learning Collaborative are leaders in providing affordable housing and health care services to a diverse senior population.

“Serving the most vulnerable and low-income populations is one of our greatest responsibilities,” says Larry Minnix, president and CEO, LeadingAge. “This Learning Collaborative will provide an opportunity for us to identify the essential elements and practices of effective housing plus services models so we can serve these populations to the best of our ability.”

For more information on the collaborative, visit www.enterprisecommunity.org/learningcollaborative or www.leadingage.org/learningcollaborative.aspx.

About Mercy Housing California
Mercy Housing California (MHC) is the largest regional division of national nonprofit Mercy Housing, Inc. (MHI), headquartered in Denver and founded in 1981 with the mission to create stable, vibrant, and healthy communities by developing, financing and operating affordable, program-enriched housing for families, seniors and people with special needs who lack the economic resources to access quality, safe housing opportunities.

Mercy Housing California has developed 128 rental properties across 36 California counties serving low- and very-low-income working poor families, senior citizens, persons who are formerly homeless and people with disabilities and persons living with HIV/AIDS. To date, MHC has developed 10,942 affordable homes in California – 7,940 in rental and 3,002 in homeownership. For more information, please visit www.mercyhousing.org.

About LeadingAge
To expand the world of possibilities for aging, LeadingAge members and affiliates touch the lives of 4 million individuals, families, employees and volunteers every day. The LeadingAge community (www.LeadingAge.org) includes 6,000 not-for-profit organizations in the United States, 39 state partners, hundreds of businesses, research partners, consumer organizations, foundations and a broad global network of aging services organizations that reach over 30 countries. The work of LeadingAge is focused on advocacy, education, and applied research. We promote home health, hospice, community-based services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care communities, nursing homes as well as technology solutions and person-centered practices that support the overall health and wellbeing of seniors, children, and those with special needs.

About Enterprise
Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For 30 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $11.5 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve nearly 300,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise has invested $2.2 billion toward the creation of more than 37,000 affordable homes for seniors. Visitwww.EnterpriseCommunity.org and www.EnterpriseCommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise’s efforts to build communities and opportunity.

About SAHF
Launched in 2003, SAHF has 12 sophisticated nonprofit members who acquire, preserve and are committed to long-term, sustainable ownership and continued affordability of multifamily rental properties for low-income families, seniors and disabled individuals. Together, SAHF members own and operate housing in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—providing homes to approximately 100,000 low-income households across the country. For more information about SAHF, visit www.sahfnet.org.

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