Perspectives 'Simply to be let in': Opening the doors to lower-income older adults and their companion animals

Abstract

Inspired by poet J.L. Borges's intimations on acceptance, this commentary highlights the eviction of an older woman and her kitten from an affordable independent living facility as representing exclusionary practices and policies that compromise the ability for some lower-income older adults to age-in-place. Even as efforts to promote aging-in-place have prioritized housing as a key need, and public health evidence suggests benefits from animal companionship later in life, there is a shortage of social and other types of affordable housing in Canada and elsewhere that allows older adult tenants to reside independently with companion animals. Within the private housing market, however, companion animals may be leveraged as a marketing tactic, with 'pets' being welcomed into rental arrangements. In light of this meanspatterned discrepancy, this commentary troubles the persistent undervaluing of human-animal relationships that exists at policy and practice levels. Furthermore, banning companion animals from affordable housing subsumes an accepted yet insidious practise of regulating the lives of older adults who have not achieved idealized conceptions of responsible aging, including home ownership. We draw these two concerns together by advocating for adequate provision of affordable housing opportunities where lower-income older adults may be granted the choice to establish a home that includes a companion animal as they age-in-place.