The Alliance’s latest report, Connecting Older Adults to Housing: Examining Disparities analyzes the different ways in which older adults exit homelessness by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and shelter status. Based on 2018 data from the Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT), it finds that 1) Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) utilization among older adults has been helping them exit homelessness and 2) Black older adults were the least likely to receive housing assistance. This blog post will discuss some key insights on how homeless service systems are housing older adults, and where there are areas to improve.

The Alliance’s new report shows that permanent supportive housing (PSH) and Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) were the top housing interventions for older adults exiting homelessness, and RRH utilization increased as older adults aged. Systems may be using RRH as a bridge to other permanent housing options if PSH resources are not available: nearly 23 percent of those 75 and older exited homelessness through RRH, compared to less than 16 percent of those ages 55-64 or 65-74. Older adults also may not qualify for PSH if they do not have any disabling conditions, so systems may turn to RRH instead. However, as the housing market tightens, RRH may become out of reach for a population living on a fixed income, with fewer means of increasing income to pay for housing after their rent subsidy ends.

Read the full article about older adult homelessness by Andrew Hall at National Alliance to End Homelessness.