KILLEEN, Texas — Killeen Mayor Pro Tem Jessica Gonzalez hosted a town hall meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. at 405 E. Green Ave for the elderly community.
"It's not often that they can have a space where they can just get specific information all in one spot centralized so it was important to do this," Gonzalez explained.
Seven organizations, including Advent Health and Meals on Wheels, were in attendance sharing important information on the resources the elderly community has.
The positive investments made into the elderly community were also discussed.
Just recently, the City of Killeen donated $250,000 towards improving the Meals on Wheels kitchen and providing them with updated equipment. The City also plans to renew their contract with 'The Hop' and teach the elderly how to use their updated system.
"One of the biggest things is transportation, I get a lot of calls from my seniors on that," Gonzalez added. "It was really nice to hear that there's a program for the city to help offset and offer that transportation."
One Killeen resident, Sharon Garrett, told 6 News how finding and qualifying for affordable housing in Killeen has been difficult since she moved 10 years ago.
"The opportunity is not there for seniors who are caught in the middle," Garrett explained. "If you make $1,000 more than the cut off, where do you go?"
Henry Flores, founder of Madhouse Development Services, announced that an affordable housing development catered to the elderly community is on the way.
"We are currently developing a community here, 108 units for elderly," Flores explained. "God willing on Thursday, we'll receive another allocation of federal tax credits to build a second community, which will be 102 units and will be located over on Illinois Ave."
Flores added that more affordable housing is needed across the country.
"Over 5,000 apartments are needed to accommodate the elderly, according to the last market study done in Killeen," Flores added.
Gonzalez plans to host a town hall meeting in each one of Killeen's districts every other month to keep the elderly informed on what's happening.
For those who were not able to attend the meeting, information can be found on the City of Killeen website.