The whole homeless thing is annoying. But there is something unsettling about the elderly – those aged 50 and above – becoming homeless after decades of full lives of home and work, facing spending their final years on the pavement. But the number of elderly homeless people is on the rise across the country. The proportion of homeless people 65 and older in the US is expected to triple between 2017 and 2030. Researchers believe that the homeless population 55 and older in Los Angeles County will reach 36,045 by 2025.
A new study, “Toward Dignity: Understanding Older Adult Homelessness” by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco, examines California’s aging homeless population.
Overall, 48% of California’s single homeless adult population is 50 or older, and 41% of older adults become homeless for the first time after reaching 50. They live mostly without shelter – in sidewalk encampments, abandoned buildings, vehicles, or anywhere else. they can be used as makeshift shelters. They are often in poor health and physically aged beyond years. “We’re talking about older adults. Those are out there,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, the study’s lead researcher.
This study gives us an idea of why this number has increased, but in the end it should serve as a wake-up call for every Californian who plans to get old. If we don’t start building affordable housing at a significant clip, more people of all ages will lose their homes.
The report draws on information collected by researchers for the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness to be published in 2023. Working with statisticians, researchers selected eight California regions, including LA County, to capture the state’s geographically and culturally representative homeless population. mentioned.
Researchers interviewed 3,200 people from shelters and camps over 13 months in 2021 and 2022, using advice from homeless and formerly homeless people about how to ask questions that would elicit honest answers.
Why are there more homeless people?
The study authors concluded that it is at least partly a result of birth. The last baby boomers (born from 1955 to 1964) came of age during tough economic times with low wages, high unemployment and limited retirement opportunities. At the same time, federal support for affordable housing is shrinking and social safety nets are being dismantled.
Also, it is the age of mass incarceration, as a result of the punitive war on drugs, which mainly affects Black people. And blacks make up 31% of the older homeless population while only 6% of Californians 50 and over. These factors contribute to this group’s increased risk for homelessness, the study authors said.
Even having a job does not protect this population, the study found. Most homeless people age 50 or older have worked full-time before becoming homeless, although many work for low wages, are physically taxing and have never achieved financial security. Illness, job loss, divorce or other setbacks often lead to housing shortages.
For all of them, housing is precarious to begin with – 46% of homeless parents do not have a rental or own a home, and live with family or friends. And here’s a scary piece of data for anyone who isn’t in a relationship: Being single is a risk factor. Among the older homeless people interviewed for the study, 52% had never been married. Another 27% were divorced or separated. Four percent were widowed. Only 17% are married or with a partner. Although it is not clear how many of the study subjects were divorced, separated or widowed before becoming homeless, people were brought up in in-depth interviews about the lack of social support and marital breakdown leading to homelessness.
After being homeless, it’s hard to get a home. The study estimates that California has only 24 housing units for every 100 low-income people “creating an affordable housing shortage of nearly 1,000,000.”
What can fix this? Unsurprisingly, the solution for homeless seniors is the same as for all homeless people: Build more affordable housing, including subsidized units and those with support services for those who need them. They also need preventative services – especially rent subsidies. Many people in the study said a monthly subsidy of between $300 and $500 would prevent homelessness.
But the study also proves the need to reach out to the homeless. Few people in the study said they sought help before losing their home, although most saw a health care provider. It would help if healthcare providers had more information for older patients about the services they could access.
The information gathered by this study only confirms what we already know: Local and state leaders must act quickly to build more permanent housing. Healthy homeless elderly people who cannot work are running out of time.
