Every May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) leads Older Americans Month (OAM). The ACL upholds:
The fundamental principlethat older adults and people of all ages with disabilities should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities
But their vision of empowerment really begins with housing. The number of older adults experiencing homelessness is expected to triple by 2030. No older adult chooses to live outdoors, in other places not meant for human habitation, or in cramped doubled up arrangements. Without stable housing, they cannot live with the people they choose. Or participate fully in their communities. Instead, they are marginalized to where they struggle to meet even their most basic needs from the edges.
OAM’s theme—Champion Your Health—is also rooted in housing. Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health (SDOH), a non-medical factor that shapes individual and groups’ health outcomes. Older adults experiencing homelessness lack transportation, health insurance, primary care physicians, and awareness of their conditions and/or the importance of care. They cannot reach OAM’s goals for them:
- Taking an active role in managing your own health
- Advocating for yourself
- Accessing preventive care
- Making informed decisions that support independence
Our work helps them reach this self-sufficiency.
What Do We Do for Older Adults?
Last year, BEDS served 488 adults over the age of 55, about 11 percent of all clients. Our programs help older adults experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness champion their housing and health. We highlight:
- Our Cicero Avenue Transitional Shelter and other Interim Housing programs provide older adults experiencing homelessness with initial shelter, needs assessments, case management, and healthcare, behavioral healthcare, and human service referrals. Older adult clients move on to more specialized programs.
- Our Medical Respite program offers interim housing, clinical and nursing care, intensive case management, and supportive service connections to people experiencing homelessness with serious medical conditions, including many older adults. Last year, many Respite clients were 55 or older.
- Our Permanent Supportive Housing, including our dedicated Aging Well housing program for older adults, provides older adults with disabilities and/or histories of chronic homelessness with housing, intensive case management, and supportive services. Currently, 39 individuals over age 55 are in the Aging Well program. More live in our Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing, Dover Place Supportive Housing, and scattered site permanent supportive housing.
Eighty-five percent of clients completing our programs exit to stable housing.
How Can I Help Older Adults Experiencing Homelessness?
This Older Americans Month please support older adults in our programs through financial donations, in-kind gifts, or volunteering.