‘Grandfamily’ Housing Caters to Older Americans Raising Children

When Jackie Lynn's niece gave birth to a baby who was addicted to heroin, Ms. Lynn had to take immediate action. 

Although Ms. Lynn's parenting days were apparently over since her two children had been on their own for 14 years. However, Ms. Lynn stepped in to care for her niece's 5 children when her niece pursued treatment. This required Ms. Lynn to move to Oregon from Washington State, which required her to take a pay cut, despite her expenses increasing. 

“The kids were there. They needed me,” Ms. Lynn, now 67, said. “It’s not like you can choose to walk away from something like that.”

For almost a year, Ms. Lynn rented an apartment and commuted almost four hours a day between child care and work. Ms. Lynn adopted three of the children, while two others moved in with other relatives. 

It was just when Ms. Lynn was "at her breaking point" when a child welfare worker told her about Bridge Meadows. Bridge Meadows is a "multigenerational housing community for older adults with low incomes, adoptive families or 'grandfamilies'—with a grandparent, adult family member or friend raising a child." 

Ms. Lynn eventually moved into Bridge Meadows. 

Communities like Bridge Meadows are becoming more and more popular as older Americans are seeking out "grand family housing." "Roughly 2.7 million children are being raised in grand families, and communities like Bridge Meadows "aim to provide stable housing." 

See Carly Stern, ‘Grandfamily’ Housing Caters to Older Americans Raising Children, N.Y. Times, August 19, 2021. 

Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.