'The number of elderly individuals experiencing homelessness is rising. The number of elderly individuals experiencing sheltered homelessness nearly doubled from 2019 to 2023. It’s not slowing down, either.’ Picture: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers.
Mike is homeless in Cape Town
Mike has lived on the streets, homeless in Cape Town for 11 years.
He says years ago he was able to rent a room at a backpackers house for a month at a time, but now the affordable housing crisis has increased the cost beyond his means.
Low-income people often called the working poor are being priced out of a place to live. This is also happening to seniors in this city like Mike. The money he gets from Sassa is not enough to pay for rent. Not even at shelters these days.
Most adults hope that by the time they reach age 65, they’ll be able to comfortably retire. They may dream of finally having time to pursue their interests or take up new hobbies.
There’s a whole other segment of the elderly population, however, that isn’t living the life they dreamed of. These individuals worry about how they will eat, where they will sleep, and what will happen if they get sick.
The number of elderly individuals experiencing homelessness is rising. The number of elderly individuals experiencing sheltered homelessness nearly doubled from 2019 to 2023. It’s not slowing down, either. This population is expected to triple over the next decade.
Our current count and assessment of those experiencing homelessness shows that almost half of all elderly homeless people became homeless after age 50. These statistics tell us that whatever the problem is, it’s related to age.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “why are the elderly falling through the cracks?”
Elderly homelessness will soon put more stress on a social services system that is already overwhelmed.
In homelessness 50 is the new 75 due to the hardships endured on the streets these days with evictions, lack of suitable accommodation being the biggest culprits in our elderly experiencing higher levels of insecurity and trauma which ultimately results in poor healthcare.
Mike has been on the streets for too long. He is extremely vulnerable.
When I asked Mike about housing, he responded that he is on a number of housing waitlists. Mike added that one housing list he signed up for 20 years ago!
The elderly homeless are composed of two main groups.
The first include those who have aged into homelessness after already having experienced one or more periods of homelessness.
The second are those who enter homelessness for the first time in old age, often due to a life change such as the death of a spouse or parent that they lived with.
There’s a cyclical relationship between high rates of homelessness and high rents.
Nationwide increases in housing costs are the primary factor behind the country’s increasing homeless population, with elderly people often facing unmanageable cost-of-living increases.
Many elderly a South Africans live on a fixed income, with about 90% of adults over 65 receiving a social grant. An old age Sassa grant amounts to R2180 per month. The cheapest room to rent usually costs on average R3000 and that is outside city centres.
Despite yearly cost-of-living adjustments to social benefits, seniors’ incomes are quickly outpaced by rising costs, and they can’t easily re-enter the workforce, especially in cases where they did heavy labour.
The increasing population of elderly homeless people present unique challenges.
Elderly people require more physical and mental health care. And being homeless ages people quickly.
Solutions for closing housing gaps whether temporary ones like shelters and transitional housing or long-term affordable housing often fall short of meeting the needs of elders. As they age, people need more accessible housing. The challenge in serving (homeless elders) is finding units that are accessible, available and affordable.
Waiting lists for housing are often quite long and may not even be open for new applicants. Everyone in a shelter may be expected to use shared bathrooms or to sleep on bunk beds. There may not be room for wheelchair users to manoeuvre, or may have stairs for exiting or entering parts of the shelter. In affordable housing, bathrooms often aren’t built with the elderly in mind, for example in lacking grab bars in the bathroom to prevent falls.
And affordable housing doesn’t always stay affordable.
Then there’s the persistent problem of funding. Even with the most successful programmes, creating accessible housing and connecting homeless individuals with resources that fit their needs both cost money and most of these programmes go unfunded by the state and big business and are reliant on fluctuating private donors support.
Private donors are at the point where they question having to pay for unsuccessful programmes through their rates and taxes, yet also be expected to foot the bill for independent programs that have proven successful.
The national government, provincial government and local government all need to relook at the programs they fund.
We should be looking at putting more funding into programmes like NOAH and the restart programme.
* Mesquita is a previously homeless man and founder of Outsider an organisation focused on enlightening people on homelessness and on accommodating those living on the streets in a dignified and sustainable manner.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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