Bill Would Help Elderly Age In Place

Congressman Mark Takai has introduced a measure to help families modify their homes to take care of kupuna.

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U.S. Rep. Mark Takai of Hawaii has introduced legislation that would provide money for families to increase accessibility in their homes for kupuna who may need wider hallways for wheelchairs, handlebars in showers or ground-floor bathrooms.

Called the Homeowners Access to Visitability Enhancements Act, or HAVE Act for short, Takai says it would provide grants of up to $5,000 to families of four making under $76,450 in Honolulu.

“Ensuring that our kupuna can age in place and live with dignity as long as they can in their home is important to me,” he said in an email this week.

“A hasty move to an assisted living facility because of a few architectural or design flaws in a house shouldn’t happen and my legislation will help families be able to install and afford accessibility features to their house.”

The bill would create a grant program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The measure was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Congressman Mark Takai washington DC1. 24 feb 2015. photograph Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Congressman Mark Takai, seen here last year at his office in Washington, D.C., introduced the HAVE Act last week. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

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