Facts:
Older adults and people with disabilities are two of the fastest growing groups experiencing homelessness in California. Since 2017, older adult homelessness has grown by 73%. Nearly half of all single Californians experiencing homelessness are over 50, and more than 40% of unhoused individuals have a disability.
Why This Is Happening
Rising rents are forcing older adults and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes into homelessness. Subsidies that helped them stay housed in the past have not kept up with rising expenses.
Eight out of ten extremely low-income older renters pay more than half of their monthly income for rent. In 25 counties, the income from Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment grants, which many people with disabilities and seniors rely on, is no longer enough to cover average rent prices. As rents rise and incomes stay the same, more older and disabled adults are becoming homeless.
Older adults and people with disabilities often need support services to live on their own, but these services are hard to find or afford. Without this support, they may have to move into costly nursing homes or lose their housing. Because shelters usually do not provide the services that people with disabilities and older adults need, many are pushed to the streets.
Why Homelessness is Especially Challenging for Older Adults
Homelessness exacts a toll on the body. Environmental hazards, stress, exposure to violence, and the lack of adequate shelter, safety, food, clean water, transportation, and health care cause unsheltered individuals to age faster. For already aging older adults, the impact of homelessness can be even greater. Older adults experiencing homelessness often face the same chronic health conditions and disabilities as housed individuals who are 20 years older.
