“Alarming” rise in older adult homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released 2021 data showing, “the number of elderly people with chronic patterns of homelessness increased by an alarming 73 percent” between 2019 and 2021. HUD also says that people are aging into chronic homelessness as well as experiencing homelessness for the first time when they are 65 or older. Nearly 10,000 more people aged 65 and older experienced sheltered homelessness in 2021 than in 2019. “While elderly people remain underrepresented among the sheltered population compared to the overall U.S. population, the increase in both the number and the share of the sheltered population that is elderly is concerning. A number of federal programs support elderly people, including housing programs targeted explicitly to that population, However, the increasing number of aging adults with chronic patterns of homelessness suggests that an expansion of resources is needed, including outreach and prevention efforts for aging adults at risk of housing insecurity,” the report says. Read the HUD report, the 2021 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress Part 2, here.