Seventy-six-year-old Josie Davis lives in a City Heights Square studio apartment. She lives alone, but she’s surrounded by photographs of distant family members in the Philippines and of herself as a 17 year old. | Photo Credit: Katie Euphrat
By Alison St John
Ina and Irwin Rubenstein live in an airy, seventh-floor apartment at Vi, an upscale continuing care retirement community east of La Jolla.
Residents at Vi pay an entrance fee of between $220,000 and $1 million, depending on the size of their apartment. The monthly fee runs from about $3,000 to more than $6,000. All residents have access to the community’s amenities: six dining rooms, a workout room, salon and spa.
At the other end of the financial spectrum there’s City Height Square, an “affordable” assisted-living complex, which has a waiting list. It’s run by a private non-profit, Senior Community Centers.
Seventy-six-year-old Josie Davis lives on the second floor in a studio apartment. Her late husband was in the military, and she has his pension of about a $1,000 a month.
Paul Downey of Senior Community Centers said he is concerned about the future of low-income senior housing. The number of seniors is expected to double by 2030. Currently, 46 percent of those in San Diego struggle to make ends meet.
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