Today the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, will visit Orlando to deliver the keynote address at the annual convention for LeadingAge Florida.
 
The nonprofit coalition represents more than 250 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and retirement communities across the state.
Spokesman Greg Ungru is expecting Carson to talk about affordable housing for seniors.
 
“There is a housing crisis, especially when it comes to seniors. They have put in their blood, sweat, and tears, and we just want to make sure they have a good, clean, safe place to live,” he said.
 
In May, the White House released its proposed 2018 budget which includes cuts to affordable housing programs, a program that provides vouchers for rental subsidies.
 
Ungru said LeadingAge is paying close attention to the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, which offers capital advances to finance construction, rehabilitation, and purchasing of affordable housing properties for seniors.
 
“A lot of our members, specifically some of them down in south Florida—our affordable senior housing members—have three to five year wait lists,” Ungru added.
 
Carson is expected to talk about HUD policy, as well as his personal and professional life as a neurosurgeon.