 In July 2017, during his keynote address at the LeadingAge Florida annual convention, Carson stated his concern about "seniors who become destitute" and reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development had increased public housing programs for the elderly by an unspecified number.In summer 2017, Carson allowed his son, Baltimore businessman Ben Carson Jr., to participate in organizing a HUD "listening tour" in Baltimore.Internal documents obtained by the "Washington Post" under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the younger Carson "put people he'd invited in touch with his father's deputies, joined agency staff on official conference calls about the listening tour and copied his wife on related email exchanges".