Plans to provide more affordable housing in Columbia are on the way, but for senior citizens, it might not be fast enough.
Perry Jeffcoat, 67, adjusts the throw blankets on the couch in his new apartment on Pendleton Street, near the University of South Carolina campus. He moved there in late July after facing problems at his old rental in West Columbia.
“People over there don’t want to fix anything until you’ve moved out, and I’d been there 27 years,” Jeffcoat said. “It’s cheaper here anyway.”
It was not just the living costs and utility issues that forced Jeffcoat to leave his home of nearly thirty years. His health and work needs made the ultimate decision, he said.
“Sometimes it’s hard,” Jeffcoat said of working to pay for the diabetes medication he takes daily. “And sometimes it’s hard, too, because I got to walk to work.”
His old apartment in West Columbia was more than a mile from Mellow Mushroom on Gervais Street, the restaurant where Jeffcoat washes dishes.
“I’ve been at Mellow 22 years now,” Jeffcoat said. “I started there in 2003.
They’re family to me.”
He talks about his coworkers and how they are always willing to give him a ride or take him to the grocery store. But the physicality of work, he said, can sometimes become too much to handle.
“I would never quit,” Jeffcoat said. “Because I can change my schedule there. I’ll tell them, my leg hurts, and they’ll let me go. I’ll tell them I need money, and I can come in.”
Many people are not as lucky, Jeffcoat said. Some seniors have to rely solely on fixed incomes, such as a monthly social security check.
Senior Resources communications director Danielle Floyd said a rising Columbia population has made affordable housing options limited, especially for the elderly community.
“The influx of new residents has increased demand and driven up housing costs, which can make it difficult for older adults on fixed incomes to remain in their homes,” Floyd said.
Senior Resources is a non-profit organization providing low-income seniors with different necessities, such as transportation assistance, meal delivery and access to wellness and social programs.
“About 85% of our clients live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level,” Floyd said. “Many of them are forced to make difficult choices each month — whether to pay a bill, buy medication or have a warm meal.”
Seniors face a variety of barriers to finding affordable living options: accessibility, amenities, transportation. But many older people also are looking for pet-friendly options.
“I just wanted to keep my cat,” Jeffcoat said of the other places he toured. Some of them were much better equipped for his health needs.
Stuff like that happens all the time, Floyd said.
“We’ve even seen seniors share their limited meals with their pets because they don’t want their companions to go hungry,” Floyd said.
Jeffcoat is careful how he spends his money, always making sure there is enough to buy food for his cat, Tinkerbell.
“I don’t spend my money unless I need to,” Jeffcoat said, his Southern accent leaking through. “I save my money. I pay my bills, and I don’t buy nothing I don’t need. Sometimes, I’ll go shopping for clothes. I’ll go probably next month.”
Jeffcoat was born in Columbia but no longer has family in the area. Instead, he relies on his friend, also named Perry, to drive him around.
Without Perry, he wouldn’t be able to live, Jeffcoat said.
“He’ll take me to the grocery store,” Jeffcoat said.
To walk is much harder than it seems. Jeffcoat lost his right hand more than five years ago due to nerve damage and infection from his type 2 diabetes.
“I got a twin brother. He’s got diabetes, too. But he said they had to do something about his leg. They had to cut his feet off. But I still got mine,” Jeffcoat said, laughing and kicking his feet from where he sits on the couch.
To stop nerve damage and infection, he has to see the doctor often. But he spends more than 60% of his income on rent, Jeffcoat said.
Without his job and the Social Security retirement check he receives, it would be nearly impossible to make ends meet, Jeffcoat said.
An affordable senior living facility in Columbia, Christopher Towers on Blossom Street, helps those who only get a monthly social security check. Arlene Andrews has worked there for five years now.
“If their only income is social security, then rising rent costs affect our seniors very much,” Andrews said.
Vision 2030, a new affordable living plan developed by the Columbia Housing Authority, is focusing on a new housing experience, one that prioritizes seniors.
“It is needed,” Andrews said.
But until then, support from the community is all seniors can rely on.
Jeffcoat also wants to assist others struggling in the same way he is.
“I like to help people out,” Jeffcoat said. “And if they’re starving or something, I have to get them some food. That’s what I do. And sometimes money just gets in the way.”
This story was filed as part of an editorial partnership between South Carolina Public Radio and the University of South Carolina’s Carolina News and Reporter. You can learn more about the Carolina News and Reporter here.
