JANESVILLE — After losing their Janesville home of 28 years over the winter, Karen Kuffer and her brother Gary Kuffer have been living in a local motel.
They've got a place to sleep, a shower, and a tiny fridge to store water and a few groceries — though they have no stove to prepare meals.
"We're doing better than we could be. Could be living in our car," Karen Kuffer, 77, told The 69.
The Kuffers' situation highlights a growing — and glaring — gap between need and available affordable housing for low-income seniors in the community.
The Kuffers became homeless in late February. They were evicted after a nursing home company sold their longtime family home on Janesville's Milton Avenue. Their brother, Wayne, is a resident of the nursing home; his name was on the deed of the house the Kuffers shared.
The Kuffers are not sure how long their situation will last — perhaps until a rent-controlled apartment opens, though social service agencies they're working with tell them they could be on a waiting list for a year or longer.
This is a growing problem among the elderly in rental markets like Rock County's that remain strapped for inventory, with average rent costs continuing to rise,
In Wisconsin and Rock County, about 40% to 45% of renters are now cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than a third of their monthly income on rent.
But older residents like Karen and Gary Kuffer are the fastest-growing demographic burdened by rent costs. A 2025 analysis of Rock County housing costs estimates 51.3% of renters 65 and older are cost-burdened.
The Kuffers, both in their late 70s, have about $1,550 a month in Social Security income. But the motel charges them $375 a week — a cost that eats up nearly all of it.
Friends have been covering their motel rent in the interim. Janesville resident Jackie Wood has known the Kuffers for years; they share a U.S. Post Office box at the Olde Towne Mall in downtown Janesville, which Wood manages.
Wood has helped steer the Kuffers to food assistance and other social services.
Now, Wood and a few of the Kuffers' friends have launched a to raise $12,000 — an amount they hope might help the two secure an apartment for the longer term.
"They're essentially in a little bedroom all day. It's been very stressful for them," Wood said. "They've never asked anyone for anything before, and they're not asking for help now."
Wood said she understands that rent instability among the elderly is "rampant." The Kuffers are dealing with that reality firsthand.
"I've called a number of different places, and for a two-bedroom, they want about $1,200. We don't make that kind of money. We don't have it. So what can we do?" Karen Kuffer said. "We lived in a house for years, and we always paid our bills when they were due. We have never asked anybody for anything."
Karen Kuffer said the closest they've come to finding an apartment is an $800-per-month unit — but they would have to share a shower room and kitchen with another set of tenants.
The rent for that unit combined with a security deposit is more than the Kuffers can manage without skipping food, medical care or other necessities.
"We don't know how the money situation is going to go, or how long until there's an apartment we can afford," Karen Kuffer said. "Maybe we're going to have to live here (at a motel) for another year."
Do you know a local resident who is elderly and struggling to pay rent or buy groceries? Email 69 City Editor Neil Johnson at neil.johnson@apg-sw.com.
