Loneliness increases most during old age. Numbers of elderly in Denmark are growing at an unprecedented rate in Denmark, and by 2040 one in four will be over 60. This development will put pressure on the public expenses and challenge the housing market, because supply will not align with future demand.
Partnership efforts with private investors and the social housing sector
We know that communities for the elderly strengthen social relations, reduce feelings of involuntary loneliness, and strengthen quality of life for the elderly. We also know that there is a huge demand in Denmark for communities for the elderly, and this is far from being met by current supply.
Realdania has therefore implemented an initiative to develop and build communities for the elderly to reduce their loneliness and promote their quality of life. We are applying a philanthropic method that first entails developing a strong data basis, and then goes on to forge solutions in partnerships with the private and social housing sectors. All the projects we join as partners have focus on the development aspect. Value programmes are drawn up in which content and frameworks for the elderly of the future call for innovation in how housing communities and communities in general can be established.
The initiative has four parallel tracks under which we:
- Stimulate the market through partnerships with private investors
- Stimulate the market through partnerships with the social housing sector
- Establish our own example building development
- Increase knowledge about, and demand for, housing communities for the elderly
Our data basis indicates that housing communities for the elderly provide a better quality of life and they even cost society less per resident than other types of housing. There is a very limited number of housing communities for the elderly in Denmark today. By cooperating with pension companies and the social housing sector, which annually invest billions in homes in Denmark, we hope to boost interest in this way of living and to increase supply significantly. This will enable us to influence investment in the private market and in the social housing sector so that they generate social and societal benefits and give good financial returns.
In our collaboration, we have special focus on ensuring that housing communities built for the elderly are also affordable for people on a Danish state retirement pension, as challenges regarding involuntary loneliness have a social imbalance.
Facts
Loneliness is a massive problem for society and today affects 104,000 elderly in Denmark. Loneliness is particularly serious for the elderly with poor financial resources, of whom 39% feel lonely. Our surveys show that a total of 91% of residents in housing communities for the elderly experience better quality of life and 75% have better social relationships.
For more information about our work with housing communities for the elderly, construction and data, contact:
Stig Hessellund
she@realdania.dk
Tel: + 45 30 99 60 05