Some recent studies have identified a trend in homelessness in America. Potentially predictable, there's a homeless wave of baby boomers. But not for the reasons you might initially guess.
Trends in age of homeless population 1990 to 2010
Figure from Culhane article analyzing 2010 HUD data.
Most of us would likely assume things like Vietnam, alcoholism, or remnants of the 60's drug culture would be the primary sources of baby boomer homelessness. But that's not what the studies seem to show.
So before we dismiss an aging homeless person as someone who likely drank their way into it, we need to look a little more closely at how most of them got there. And we need to look at what we need to do, as a country, to prevent what could become an explosion of older homeless Americans.
More below the squiggly.
As many working with homeless populations can attest, a broad trend affecting those who become homeless later in life is the widening disparity between actual wages and the income needed as a living wage.
For a young adult, earning minimum wage or just slightly above minimum wage means sharing an apartment or living at home. But for an older adult, those options are often no longer available.
To make matters worse, older adults may face age discrimination in the workplace making it tougher to obtain and hold jobs. Some older adults start experiencing physical problems that slow them down and make it that much harder to keep jobs or try to supplement when one job is just not enough. If an older adult has been chronically earning lower wages, they will also have insufficient or no savings to fall back on.
As they approach age 60, someone who has been working hard all their life, but has just not been able to land or hold onto the kind of job they dreamed of, will find they are fast running out of options and hope. If they are looking a bit older and worn out (possibly losing teeth but unable to afford critical dental care), employers will be more likely to favor more energetic, youthful employees.
Those in their late 40s through early 60s are in a precarious position. Many aid programs are specifically targetted to children, the disabled, and seniors (over 65). But there is a clear trend showing a need to support those who do not qualify as seniors, while they are still working hard to stay afloat.
Also from the Culhane article
The most recent estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that there were about 650,000 Americans enumerated as homeless on a given day in January 2010 including 38% who were “unsheltered” or living on the streets, in parks, encampments, or other places not intended for habitation (U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). Over the entire course of 2010, 1.6 million people stayed in a shelter or transitional housing program for the homeless. Approximately 14% of the sheltered homeless households in 2010 were comprised of families with children (accounting for slightly more than one-third of all homeless persons), and 86% of households were single adults (U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011).
In an article published by the Healing Hands Network, one worker commented on an example client who had delivered dry cleaning for minimum wage into his 60s and then ran out of money. This example, many noted, was not unusual. They warned:
This should be a reminder that we are all just one step away from homelessness.
In the same, article
the Healing Hands Network folks conclude:
Because financial barriers are often the proximate cause of homelessness for older adults, many could end their homelessness with rental assistance or access to affordable housing. Those with disabling conditions could achieve stability through access to permanent supportive housing.
The one thing that is not addressed in the article, but should be a major part of any effort to address homelessnes is the fact that it is much easier and more cost effective to
prevent someone from becoming homeless than it is to restore someone into safe housing after they have lost their home (and often most of their belongings). Programs to reach out to those who are teetering on the verge of homelessness need to be re-invigorated and additional focus needs to be placed on helping older, working adults.
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