Healthy Aging & Housing Stability

PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives) is Make-A-Day’s dedicated support program for older adults living in affordable housing communities. Many seniors in Franklin County are working hard to stay housed on fixed incomes, but rising rent, limited support systems, and isolation can make stability fragile. PEARLS is a simple, friendly way to meet people where they live and offer ongoing encouragement, problem-solving tools, and connection to resources that help keep older adults housed, active, and engaged in their community.

A trained PEARLS Coach meets one-on-one with participants for six to eight sessions, usually in a community room or right at the resident’s door. Together, they talk through the everyday stressors that come with aging on a limited income (confusion around paperwork, transportation challenges, anxiety, or feeling socially disconnected) and break those down into small, achievable steps. PEARLS sessions are relaxed and conversational, helping participants plan enjoyable activities, identify meaningful goals, and build confidence handling issues that used to feel overwhelming.

The goal of PEARLS is simple: reduce isolation, strengthen coping skills, and support older adults in staying safely housed. While residents work through PEARLS sessions, our staff can also connect them with benefits, housing supports, legal services, warm-hand offs to medical providers, and community resources. This combination of emotional support and practical assistance helps prevent eviction, improves follow-through on appointments, and increases access to stabilizing services like SNAP, Medicaid, ID recovery, and transportation support.

PEARLS fits naturally into our outreach and housing support model. By bringing PEARLS directly into affordable housing communities, we help residents build resilience, maintain connection, and feel supported not just in moments of crisis, but month after month, in the place they call home.