🔒Fixed incomes, rising rents, and limited resources are making seniors the fastest-growing unhoused population in Worcester County

Seniors are the fastest-growing age group experiencing homelessness in the nation, with those 55 and older making up about 20% of the entire unhoused population, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In Massachusetts and in Worcester County, the figures are just as startling. The state has the fifth-highest rate of homelessness in the country, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Nearly 2,300 older adults experienced homelessness in Massachusetts on a single night in January 2024, with 16.1% of those categorized as unsheltered. That’s the largest unsheltered percentage of any other age group analyzed that month. In Worcester County, those aged 65 or older remain the smallest unhoused age group, but it’s fastest growing, rising 29% since 2018, according to the Worcester nonprofit Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. Fixed incomes, rising rents, and dwindling support systems mean more older adults are showing up at homeless shelters than ever before. Shelters in Central Massachusetts and the state as a whole were built decades ago without the forethought of today’s senior homelessness crisis. As a result, local organizations are working around the clock to provide shelter for some of our communities’ most vulnerable residents.

Financial strains

Throughout the unhoused senior population, two subcategories rise: those who have been experiencing long-term homelessness and now have complex needs, and those who are just now facing homelessness for the first time, said Joyce Tavon, CEO of the Boston-based Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance.

For the first group of seniors, many have been battling mental health issues and substance use disorders, but now with age, they are experiencing medical needs intensifying their experiences of homelessness. The second group of seniors has been particularly unexpected for homeless service providers, Tavon said. She has providers telling her they have homeowning seniors showing up at their doors who just lost their homes. “I've been in this work for decades,” said Tavon. “That is really different from anything we used to have.” A major catalyst that drives homeowning seniors into homelessness is the inability to afford repairs, said Leah Bradley, CEO of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. This issue often arises when senior homeowners don’t address minor repairs, which end up growing into catastrophic issues with a price tag too large to manage. Seniors struggling with fixed incomes, coupled with the rise in cost of living, make it impossible for them to pay their mortgages, said LaTanya Wright, vice president of outreach & partnerships at Hearth in Boston. Others have had their income decreased, or a spouse who went to work die, and are relying on state benefits to pay their mortgages or rent. They end up slipping through the cracks. The rise in rent prices only exacerbates the issue, said Moses Dixon, president and CEO of Worcester nonprofit Senior Connection. The average rent price in Worcester now exceeds $2,000, according to real estate listing website Zillow. Yet, the average monthly social security check is about $1,900 a month, said Dixon. Senior Connection gets calls everyday from older adults on the verge of homelessness, and those who are now living in their cars. Seniors are not a transient population, he said, which makes moving to another apartment or housing option far more difficult than for younger people. Seniors now facing homelessness have lived in their homes for years, if not multiple decades.

“You can pretty much guarantee that they've outfitted those spaces to meet their needs,” Dixon said. Now facing homelessness, they’re forced to move somewhere that doesn’t have the ramp they have to move between rooms or their shower railings. “Now, you're suddenly forced to be homeless or evicted, and the place you may go to is not conducive to your physical needs,” said Dixon. Furthermore, older adults are not acclimated with the new housing and renting market, he said. No one is posting an apartment for rent on utility poles anymore; a lot of the processes have moved online, especially when searching for affordable housing units. Even when seniors are able to navigate the application process, housing inventory is severely limited, said Bradley. The state’s renter vacancy rate, the percentage of available rental units, is currently about 1.7%, substantially lower than the 4% to 6% considered healthy. Worcester’s vacancy rate ranges between below 1% to 2%, she said.

Fewer supports

The alternatives to shelters that unhoused seniors used to have are disappearing, said Tavon. People who may have once been able to take in their unhoused loved ones are now unable to because they themselves are pushing their limits with the increasing cost of living. “It’s not that family and friends don't care. It's their own housing; they're more burdened,” said Tavon. “Maybe they're living in tighter quarters, and they just can't take in that older family member or friend.”

Additionally, homeless seniors may have been left completely without their support systems as friends and family have died, said Wright. With nowhere else to go, seniors are forced to resort to sleeping in their cars or attempting to stay at homeless shelters. Many Massachusetts shelters were built in the 80s and 90s by grassroots organizations responding to emergencies, said Tavon. They were erected in unconventional spaces, like church basements, and were not built to meet the needs of elderly adults. “We frankly didn't think 40 years later you'd still be operating a shelter here,” she said. The state’s shelter systems were designed for middle-aged individuals who needed a temporary stay, and they are continuing to function well for those purposes, said Bradley. The issue is the demographics of those who need shelter have changed. “We don't have the resources to change the shelter system to meet the needs of new populations, such as seniors,” she said. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, emergency shelters must be ADA-compliant for the most part, but that doesn’t mean they meet the needs of seniors.

Most shelters don’t provide private or semi-private rooms and bathrooms needed for certain conditions. They may not have lock boxes for medications or a refrigerator to store them in. Wright has heard of seniors sleeping on bunk beds that are hard to physically navigate, if not on chairs or mats on the floor as shelters overflow individuals into spare spaces. Others have had items stolen, and therefore don’t trust the shelter systems. Because of funding and resource limitations, some shelters require people to leave during the day and come back in the evening. “Then what?” said Tavon. “Where do you go during the day?

Prevention, prevention, prevention

It is much easier for organizations to help individuals stay in their homes than it is to relocate them to a shelter or find new housing, said Wright. “Early intervention is the best way to start,” said Dixon. He encourages seniors to reach out to an organization like Senior Connection before an eviction process even begins. Staying housed includes knowing your housing and tenant rights, he said. Dixon urges seniors to reach out to any of the 61 senior centers and councils on aging in Central Massachusetts for support in learning their rights and preventing evictions when money becomes tight or when seniors learn of an upcoming rent increase. Community Legal Aid in Worcester and Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance are other great resources for education, he said. Senior centers can help individuals navigate subsidized housing, said Bradley, and while someone may still be on a waitlist for a year or two, senior housing becomes available more quickly than other units. Other entities, such as the City of Worcester, Habitat for Humanity, and Worcester Community Action Council, can connect seniors to income-eligible financial resources to assist with minor and larger home repairs and needs, she said. Many seniors come to Wright only once they’re in dire straits, because they were too ashamed to speak up sooner. She reassures her clients it’s not about pointing fingers or finding blame. It’s about “gaining that trust, building that rapport, to find out how we can help the individual, not just in one way, but in more than one way so that we can help them to sustain,” she said. Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.