An 81-year-old woman sat in my office and put a question to me; ‘What fate awaits me, if in few weeks or months, my landlord decides to increase the rent?’ While struggling to get the words out of her mouth, the tears began to roll down her cheeks because, staring at her was the grim prospect of ending up homeless. Her story is that of a Canadian senior who, despite starting out as a teenager who had dedicated all her life to her country of Canada, today, as a senior, accessing subsidized housing is an impossibility.
Mine is the soul wrenching job of consoling seniors. But while at it, so many questions come to the fore in mind. And as I watch this senior cry like a little baby in my office, morbid fear rose from the pit of my stomach, worked its way up through my throat, and then remained trapped in my mouth. This senior was not the first to break down in tears in my office; I have encountered a lot of them while working at the shelter, on the streets and elsewhere
Statistics shows that 8.3% of seniors in Canada are practically living in the homeless shelter, this percentage is actually discounting the unaccountable numbers not registered in any shelters. Most seniors I have encountered in my line of duty cannot be described as lazy, as a matter of fact, some of them, even though 80+, would still ask if I would be so kind as to connect them to any employer that can offer them a job.
The challenge of homelessness among seniors is a clear and present danger. So much so that the Simon Fraser University as of June last year, began leading a research project examining how to support older people experiencing homelessness in major Canadian cities. Even the government subsidized housing program is now looking like a mirage, with a waitlist that is consistently looking like an unrealizable dream with each passing sun, making applicants, especially seniors on the list, more vulnerable to homelessness.
Shelter is a necessity and everyone deserves a roof over their head. Yet seniors are not the only ones experiencing homelessness; teenagers, youth, and even middle-aged people, regardless of their social location, fall victim of this challenge. According to The Homeless Hub, “The number of Canadians who experience homelessness on any given night in Canada is estimated to be minimally 35,000.” And this is not taking into cognizance the hidden numbers that are not included in the above figure, which I believe could blow one’s mind should all the figures be captured. According to Simon Fraser university gerontology professor Sarah Canham, researchers in Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver are working with housing providers and stakeholders to bring a partnered, community-based approach to measuring “what works, why it works, and for whom it works,” but when this approach and effort would extend throughout the entire country remains a question begging answers!
As the tree of questions began to form a forest of questions in my mind, as the question “why are people at the risk of becoming homeless or even homeless?” continues to throw itself up in my mind, I realized quickly too, that the answers were always there. Answers that I have gathered from interactions with clients who are victims of houses that are no longer affordable, unavailable social housing, loss of jobs, debt, mental health, addiction, pandemic, family crisis and breakdown, to mention a few.
While working in shelter services and outreach, I observed that the challenges homeless seniors face come with each break of day. Some of these challenges are so much that they prevent them from performing daily activities, make them vulnerable to those who rob them of their money and valuables, make them appear older than their real age, make them look so unkempt and also put them in a place where they suffer so much trauma from all the negative life experiences they have had to go through in the streets or at the shelter.
It is the very fear of experiencing the above conditions that sends strong signals to the seniors who are served eviction notices, a fear I am very familiar with, having seen it in their eyes many times, as they sit in front of me narrating the ordeal of seniors who experience homelessness.
While driving down to the office this morning, a doctor (not sure of the name) was interviewed on a CBC radio program and she was appealing to the government not to close temporary shelters, because if they do, the numbers of people sleeping on the streets will multiply. She also stated that the high rate of patients in the emergency these days are from the homeless population. Some of these unfortunately includes seniors, she says.
Listening to this lady, more questions begging for answers began to well up in my mind. Is there hope for the homeless? Will homelessness become a thing of the past, or is it something we have to live with all our lives? May the coming days and the concerted efforts of stakeholders supply the answers that will bring hope to seniors!