LINCOLN, RI — In an effort to better integrate supportive services into senior housing, U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced today that the Lincoln Housing Authority (LHA) will receive $169,497 in federal funding through the Resident Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinator program.  The funding, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will help hire a service coordinator to assist residents in need at Lincoln Manor and Manville Manor, two LHA sites in Lincoln, for a span of three years. 

Service coordinators help elderly and disabled residents connect with outside agencies and organizations to access the services and support they need, such as nutritional assistance, preventative health screenings and wellness programs, and transportation.  They also serve as a liaison to community agencies, network with community providers, and seek out needed services for residents.  This innovative program helps prevent social isolation, senior victimization, and unnecessary or premature institutionalization in nursing homes.

The LHA service coordinator will oversee a total of 246 elderly/disabled housing units at Lincoln Manor and Manville Manor, and will focus on expanding mental health treatments, assisting with Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and easing residents’ access to veterans’ benefits.  The LHA also plans to increase residents’ access to information regarding affordable health care insurance and help provide primary care services and referral procedures for at-risk residents.  Through LHA’s partnership with PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), the LHA will also identify and target high-need residents.

“This federal funding will help hire a service coordinator to work directly with residents at Lincoln Manor and Manville Manor and connect them to needed services.  The coordinator can act as an information concierge of sorts, so when seniors have a problem, there is someone there who can listen, identify solutions, and connect them with appropriate community-based supports, whether it is the VA or Meals-On-Wheels.  Ultimately, service coordinators educate residents and advocate for them.  Often times, they prevent small problems from turning into more costly crises, helping seniors and saving taxpayers,” said Senator Reed, the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee, which oversees federal spending for HUD programs.

“I am extremely grateful that  Lincoln Housing Authority has been selected to receive this ROSS grant.  Providing the best service possible to our residents is of the utmost importance to Lincoln Housing Authority and this grant will assist us in accomplishing this goal,” said LHA Executive Director Claudette Kuligowski.

This is the first ROSS Service Coordinator grant for the Lincoln Housing Authority.  The Providence Housing Authority and Johnston Housing Authority both received ROSS grant funding in 2014.

The Lincoln Housing Authority was formed in 1963 to provide affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing to individuals and families with low-incomes in Lincoln.  Since its inception, LHA has serviced over 3,000 families in need, most of which are elderly.  The management of the LHA’s properties have been consistently rated “High Performing” by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.