L.A.’s elderly homeless population is growing
It’s known in many circles as a “quiet crisis” -- a surging population of older Americans over the next 15 years. And for those who serve the homeless in Los Angeles, that portends a dramatically worsening situation.
The nonprofit Shelter Partnership spent the last two years studying the plight of Los Angeles County’s homeless elderly -- a population, it concluded, of 3,000 to 4,000. The study, which is being released today, marks the first time that the region’s elderly homeless population has been studied.
Their conclusion: Homeless adults 62 and older are among the fastest-growing and most vulnerable homeless populations in Los Angeles County -- and that while a host of programs serve homeless families and individuals, there are few programs specifically for the elderly.
“We have seen this anecdotally,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Homelessness. “But this puts it down in hard-core words that can’t be ignored.”
The elderly homeless, according to the study, are a disparate group. At least a third, and perhaps as many as half, are considered chronically homeless -- who officials have traditionally had a hard time getting off the streets.
Among the study’s other findings:
More than two-thirds of Los Angeles County’s homeless older adults are male.
28% reported prior military service -- a number that is twice as high as the general homeless population.
62% reported having a physical and/or mental disability.
Almost two-thirds of adults living on the streets are receiving some income, either from Social Security or Supplemental Security Income.
The Shelter Partnership survey makes many recommendations about how Los Angeles can best serve the elderly homeless.
Chief among those, said Shelter Partnership Executive Director Ruth Schwartz, is to concentrate on establishing a body that would focus on creating permanent, supportive housing options for them -- similar to what cities such as Boston and San Diego have done. Perry suggested that the city could “include a percentage of whatever we gather for the housing trust fund to set aside specifically for older adults, because of their unique needs.”
Recent estimates place the total number of homeless at around 65,000.
That number, said Schwartz, “is huge. Three to four thousand is not huge. It’s manageable. It’s what people have in most communities.”
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