Downey is president/CEO of Serving Seniors, and lives in Mount Helix. Kohler is president/CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, and lives in Downtown San Diego.
The variety of San Diego County residents experiencing homelessness has risen steadily within the final decade. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the scenario. In consequence, first-time homelessness in San Diego doubled in 2020.
In accordance with San Diego’s 2020 Level In Time Rely, 1 in 4 of San Diego’s homeless adults is over the age of 55. Amongst this group of unsheltered seniors, 88 percent turned homeless in San Diego County and 43 percent are experiencing homelessness for the primary time of their lives.
Serving Seniors has completely served San Diego’s low-income, older grownup inhabitants for 51 years. In collaboration with the Regional Job Drive on Homelessness and allied neighborhood organizations, we undertook formal analysis of older grownup homelessness to know its true nature and determine simpler help providers and options. We released “Senior Homelessness: A Wants Evaluation” this month. Its findings reveal vital variations working with older adults experiencing homelessness as in comparison with the final grownup homeless inhabitants. Merely put, the causes of homelessness amongst seniors — and the options — are distinct.
Regardless of perceptions, just one in 4 at the moment or previously homeless older adults surveyed reported scuffling with psychological well being. Simply 7 p.c reported substance abuse points.
Fairly, it’s primarily financial forces similar to inadequate retirement revenue, unaffordable housing choices, the shortcoming to proceed working, or a single sudden disaster like a job loss or critical sickness that drive homelessness amongst older adults.
As well as, cognitive or bodily impairments and issue accessing providers as a result of age-related disabilities complicate older adults’ efforts to search out assist.
In consequence, conventional help providers aren’t all the time useful. Congregate shelters might not have the capability to handle the wants of older adults. Advanced well being points, mobility limitations, incontinence, guidelines requiring older adults to face in self-service strains and a heightened want for bodily security depart seniors unable to deal with a shelter surroundings.
We should modify our present method to right away handle the wants of older people with a current lack of housing. Discovering secure various housing is the purpose.
To beat back the monetary misery fueling older grownup homelessness, our analysis discovered a minimal quantity of month-to-month funding would efficiently forestall most economic-based homelessness.
Greater than half (56 percent) of surveyed older adults reported that an extra $300 or much less per 30 days would make the distinction between being housed and homeless. However solely one-third (36 percent) of renters aged 62 or older who certified for some type of federal rental help had been receiving any.
A “shallow subsidy” method recommends diverting present federal reimbursement funds for emergency shelter beds to an equal direct stipend to stop homelessness.
At the moment, the federal reimbursement for one mattress at an emergency shelter is $12.50 per individual per night time, or $375 per 30 days. The diversion of funds from housing somebody in a shelter to conserving them housed affords a possible inexpensive, near-term resolution with out further funding.
In tandem, taking a extra proactive method towards serving to older adults discover sources — with simply accessible data and private steerage together with higher coaching and coordination amongst service suppliers — would keep away from delays in securing help, and stop older adults ending up on our streets.
By offering data-driven findings and suggestions in our report, Serving Seniors and the Regional Job Drive on Homelessness intend to help and encourage dialogue amongst service suppliers, advocates, policymakers and the neighborhood at giant about older grownup homelessness, and level the way in which to cost-effective options we are able to implement instantly. We’ve got a golden alternative to handle a number of simply preventable issues by means of focused leveraging of current sources.
The variety of homeless adults over age 55 is projected to triple over the subsequent decade. San Diegans ought to discover this unacceptable. Though homelessness is an more and more widespread challenge for all age teams, the older grownup inhabitants faces particular circumstances coping with financial stresses, age-related psychological and bodily well being points, and the digital divide.
Because the child boomer era continues to extend the proportion of older adults within the U.S., homelessness in areas with excessive housing prices like San Diego County will develop unchecked except we take fast motion. It’s a matter of well being and security, and the time is now.
