Knowlton Place, located in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati

The Great Recession hit America’s late Baby Boomers and early Gen X-ers hard. Too hard. From multiple directions.

Real wages have been stagnant for the majority of both generations’ working years. A lot of the pension plans they paid into — government and employer-funded alike — are underfunded and can’t meet their obligations.

Federal safety-net programs like Social Security and Medicare, which most Boomers always thought would be there for them, have become popular political targets and face uncertain futures.

Many people seduced by the dot-com and home refinance bubbles of the late Nineties and early Oughts remain underwater on their mortgages. They can’t downsize without taking significant losses on their homes, but they can’t afford their payments and property taxes, either.

Boomers are working well into their anticipated retirement years, trying to keep up their standards of living and make up for lost financial ground. Generation X will likely have to work even harder.

To add insult to injury, a lot of late Boomers and early Gen X-ers live in the so-called “Sandwich Generation.” They’re paying for their parents’ senior care and still supporting their underemployed, student loan-hamstrung Millennial children.

The need for affordable senior living is approaching crisis levels nationwide.

All of those factors, occurring simultaneously, have really made the last 20 years a perfect financial storm.

With Baby Boomers at peak retirement — and many of them unprepared for the cost of their own care — the need for affordable senior living is growing. You could say it’s approaching crisis levels nationwide.

The lack of affordable senior housing can negatively impact elders’ quality of life across the board. To maintain mortgage or rent payments, some older people are forced to make difficult budget decisions. They skimp on groceries. They don’t refill medications.

High housing costs may “force millions of low-income older adults to sacrifice spending on other necessities, including food, undermining their health and well-being,” the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University stated in a 2014 report on the state of senior housing market.

Luckily, the market is providing solutions, like the Affordable Living by ERS initiative, to Boomers’ growing need for affordable retirement housing. Here are four things you need to know about affordable living.

1. Affordable Living by ERS apartment communities are opening at a record pace in Cincinnati.

This year alone, Episcopal Retirement Services is poised to open thousands of square feet of new housing for lower-income seniors in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Marlowe Court is fast nearing completion in Cincinnati’s College Hill neighborhood. We partnered with The Model Group and the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. to bring 53 more affordable retirement apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail space to the heart of the neighborhood’s rebounding business district.

Just down Hamilton Avenue from College Hill, in Northside, we’ve renovated Knowlton Place. It contains 26 one-bedroom and 30 two-bedroom apartment homes for elders of limited means.

2. There’s more affordable senior housing available in the suburbs, too.

We’re not just concentrating our efforts on the urban core. Affordable Living by ERS communities are open now in many Cincinnati suburbs.

Thomaston Meadows, in Amelia, Ohio, offers 13 apartment units for people, aged 62 or older, of qualifying income. The community was recently renovated and brand-new, secure entrances were added. The grounds are well-maintained and offer comfortable picnic spaces for visiting guests and residents who enjoy spending a quiet afternoon together.

View More: ERS Brings Affordable Senior Living to the YMCA in Downtown Cincinnati

We now have senior living communities in Clinton County, too.

Our Blanchester Friends Housing campus features 114 units with ranch-style configurations — perfect for seniors with limited mobility or other special needs. Since undertaking management of the complex, we’ve renovated it to include updated doors, windows and new community center landscaping.

And nearby, in Wilmington, our Prairie Oaks Village community comprises 219 units, from efficiencies to two-bedrooms, for seniors of limited means.

3. Affordable Living by ERS is growing outside Greater Cincinnati.

Our goal isn’t just to meet the Queen City’s needs — it’s to provide affordable senior housing for the entire Tristate region.

Trent Village opened earlier this year in Lexington, Kentucky, bringing more 40 single-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom affordable seniors apartments to the Bluegrass region.

Over in Southeastern Indiana, the 30 senior apartments in Anderson’s Parkview Place, located in the renovated and refurbished historic YMCA building, offer elders of limited means a beautiful secure and welcoming place to spend their golden years. The community’s residents even receive a free YMCA membership as part of their living arrangement!

Sunrise Terrace, a newly-acquired Affordable Living by ERS community in New Carlisle, Ohio, just north of Dayton, features 48 units for seniors 62 and older of qualifying income, and is now accepting resident applications.

4. We have additional plans for growth.

This year, Episcopal Retirement Services was granted several tax credits to develop more housing for seniors of limited means. And we’ve signed management agreements with several existing communities.

Affordable housing is a critical need here in the Tristate and throughout the United States. We recognize the situation, and that’s why we’re doing everything we can to make retirement living easier to budget for.

So, keep checking here for additional news: there will be more.

If you, or a senior loved one, needs more affordable senior housing, contact us. Maybe a move to an Affordable Living by ERS community is the right move for you?