Giving Compass' Take:

• A research team at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed the needs of the aged homeless population.

• The author mentions that ensuring there are resources for prevention and rapid re-housing is crucial. How can donors play a role here?

• Read the Giving Compass Homeless magazine. 

Researchers are sounding an alarm on a trend that’s been emerging for years: the homeless population is growing older, and the number of older homeless Americans is growing larger.

This is a trend that providers, first responders, and medical professionals have been seeing for quite some time. And now there is analysis that sheds light on it.

A research team headed by University of Pennsylvania Professor Dennis Culhane recently sought to understand the aged homeless population, and how their needs impact homeless services.

Their report indicates that homelessness is, in large part, a phenomenon impacting people who came of age during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.   This group was born between 1955 and 1965, right after the peak of the historically large post-World War II baby boom.

The majority of the aging population will have relatively low housing and health needs.  Areas ripe for exploration include:

  • Implementing screening instruments that effectively and efficiently determine level of need.
  • Ensuring sufficient resources for prevention, rapid re-housing, shallow rent subsidy, and housing voucher programs.
  • Advancing provider best practices for supporting family connections, including developing diversion and mediation techniques that meet the specific needs of people whose families include adult children, aging siblings, and others.
  • Advancing provider best practices for ensuring access to income supports (Social Security, SSI, and SNAP).
  • Ensuring access to aging in place services through Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs.
  • Creating proven models for building and supporting connections to employment for older adults.
  • Supporting specialized staff training.

Read the full article about aged homelessness population by Joy Moses at National Alliance to End Homelessness.