By 2050, 95,000 older adults, especially those aged 50 to 65, are expected to be living without stable housing, 2 times the present rate.
Those chronically homeless are aging and there are more first time older homeless. These new older homeless have aged at a time of stagnate wages, fewer fixed pension plans as well as higher rents with fewer housing choices.
Older adults who lost jobs in the recession have also had a harder time than those younger. Those on fixed incomes have had the hardest time.
Homeless adults 50 and over:
• Have mortality rates 4 times higher than the general population with a life span of 64 years.
• Age prematurely, 10 to 20 years beyond their chronological age.
• Visit the ER more often than younger homeless.
• Often congregate in cities, like Little Rock, or larger where they hope for more services.
Nagourney, A. Old and Graying on the Streets. New York Times (2016) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/us/americas-aging-homeless-old-and-on-the-street.html?_r=1
Simmons School of Social Work (2016). Aging on the Streets: America’s Growing Older Homeless Population. https://socialwork.simmons.edu/blog/aging-on-the-streets-americas-growing-older-homeless-population/
This post originally aired on KUAR in February 2018.