Recent analysis of the 2000 Census, sponsored by the Windy Hill Foundation, finds that about 250 senior households in Middleburg, or within 10 miles of Town, spend more than 35% of their yearly income on housing. Nearly 90 of those households live below the poverty line ($8,350 per year for a single person, $11,250 for a couple), and an additional 80 of these households live on less than $20,000 per year. According to the Census, 20 of these households lack indoor plumbing.

"Two Social Security checks total about $13,000 a year," points out Foundation Executive Director Kim Hart. "If 50% of that must get spent on housing, that leaves only $550 for utilities, food, clothing, insurance, and prescription medication," says Hart. "We know of one elderly person whose drug bill alone is $400 per month."

These findings are supported by estimates from the local Seven Loaves Food Bank. "Approximately 75 senior households are registered with the bank," says volunteer George Lengauer. "And about 50 of those households count on the food bank every month." While utilization of the Food Bank is not a direct sign of housing distress, it is indicative of the overwhelming financial hardships faced by many of the area's elderly residents.

One reason housing costs so much is that local median incomes, among the highest in the country, bid up both rents and home purchase prices. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports a median household income of $84,800 for the entire Washington area, but Loudoun County is even higher at $91,500. The fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the County is now $1,154 a month. The average housing price in Loudoun was $378,929 as of October, 2003, according to Loudoun County Financial Services.

Federal Housing programs, once a source of support for elderly housing, have been doing little to help recently. In the last five years, in spite of a growing annual need for affordable housing in the county, HUD has allocated only one Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher to Loudoun County. That's right, excluding 60 vouchers exclusively for the disabled, the total allocation of rental assistance vouchers for the past five years has been one.

What can be done?

For those seniors with limited incomes who are lucky enough to live in homes that are paid for, the best thing that can be done is to be sure that they are aware of and have signed up for current tax abatement programs. A brochure on this is available at the Middleburg Town office.

For those seniors who must rent, including those displaced from farm-based tenant housing, there simply isn't enough housing to go around. The Windy Hill Foundation currently serves a handful of senior tenants but most Foundation units have stairs. So, the Foundation has begun planning and fund raising for a 20-unit affordable housing project for seniors to be built next to the Middleburg firehouse. "It's a great project and it has to be done," says Foundation President, Tommy Dodson. "But if you do the numbers, we're just scratching the surface compared to the need—right here in Loudoun and Fauquier."