California’s Unhoused Seniors: A Crisis Within the State’s Homelessness Crisis

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media 

California’s homelessness crisis is increasingly becoming an aging crisis, as a growing number of older adults experience housing instability at a stage of life when health challenges, fixed incomes and mobility limitations can make finding stability far more difficult. 

Nearly half — about 48% — of single adults experiencing homelessness in California in 2023 were at least 50 years old, according to a University of California, San Francisco report. That figure represents a dramatic increase from 1990, when older adults accounted for just 11% of the state’s unhoused single adult population. 

For many seniors, preventing homelessness requires more than an affordable apartment. It requires housing connected to healthcare, transportation, case management and other supportive services that allow older adults to remain independent while navigating the realities of aging. 

“California’s population is rapidly aging, but our supportive housing systems have yet to catch up,” said David Lindeman, chair of the California Commission on Aging (CCoA), during the Commission’s annual information hearing titled “Nowhere to Go: Addressing the Crisis in Supportive Housing for Older Californians. 

The hearing, held at the California Endowment in Sacramento, brought together housing advocates, government officials, service providers and individuals with lived experience to examine why so many older adults struggle to find housing designed to meet their needs. 

One of those individuals was Sacramento resident Steve Gasco. 

When Gasco, 61, moved back to California after living in Detroit, he found himself facing a challenge many older adults now experience: finding housing he could afford while preparing for retirement. 

Gasco was paying about $1,300 per month for what he described as the most affordable apartment he could find in Midtown Sacramento. To make ends meet, he relied on gig work, including driving for Grubhub using an older vehicle. When his rent increased, he began searching for another option to avoid becoming unhoused. 

That search eventually led him to the Wong Center, a 55-and-older affordable housing community in downtown Sacramento. 

“Living at the Wong Center has been just such an amazing, fortunate experience,” Gasco told commissioners. “It doesn’t really have a lot of supportive services, but it’s a landing pad for a lot of older people.” 

Gasco said the building has become more than a place to live for its approximately 150 older residents. It has become a community where neighbors support one another through the challenges of aging. 

“There’s an old song: ‘I got no place to go, alone in a big city. Will you be a friend and help me?’” Gasco said. “And that plays in my mind because now it’s about 150 older people. I’m one of the youngest at 61, and people are in wheelchairs. People have different mobility issues.” 

He said many older adults experience isolation and disconnection that can be difficult to capture through traditional discussions about mental health. 

“We talk about behavioral health, but I’m not sure if that really captures the confusion a lot of people live in and the feeling of being disconnected,” Gasco said. “So, we’re starting to band together and help each other.” 

Supportive housing seeks to address those challenges by pairing permanent housing with services tailored to residents’ needs. For older adults, those services may include help managing medications, accessing healthcare, arranging transportation and coordinating long-term care. 

But advocates say California does not have enough supportive housing options available for older adults as the state combats a broader homelessness crisis that is the worst in the United States.  

Black Californians are disproportionately represented in California’s aging homelessness population, because of longstanding disparities in housing, income, health, and wealth, experts say.  According to the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative’s California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness, Black Californians make up 31% of older adults experiencing homelessness, despite representing only about 6% of Californians age 50 and older. 

Janelle Kazarus, CEO of El Hogar Community Services in Sacramento, told commissioners that many older adults fall into a gap between independent housing and institutional care. 

“They require a level of support that falls somewhere between independent living and institutional care,” Kazarus said. “The middle ground is missing.” 

Kazarus said her organization frequently works with older adults who are ready to transition into permanent housing but remain in shelters, hospitals, transitional housing or other temporary settings because appropriate options are unavailable. 

“For older adults, behavioral health needs, housing is often the intervention that determines whether recovery is possible,” Kazarussaid. “We can stabilize symptoms, connect individuals to treatment, provide intensive case management and build trusting relationships. But without stable housing, those gains are difficult to sustain.” 

Older adults experiencing homelessness also face barriers that younger people may not encounter. According to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, housing discrimination, limited income and age-related health conditions can all make securing permanent housing more difficult. 

Research has also found that homelessness can accelerate the aging process. Chronic stress, exposure to the elements, untreated medical conditions, poor nutrition and limited healthcare access can contribute to earlier cognitive decline, mobility limitations and frailty among older adults experiencing homelessness. 

While lawmakers in Sacramento are advancing a number of bills this session aimed at reducing homelessness, none specifically target the growing crisis of homelessness among older Californians. Current proposals focus on expanding access to sober living housing, strengthening statewide homelessness prevention planning, improving local coordination of homeless services, and creating an Office of Youth Homelessness Prevention.  

Although advocates have warned that adults 55 and older are the fastest-growing segment of California’s unhoused population, no major stand-alone legislation this year is dedicated specifically to preventing or ending homelessness among older adults. 

For Gasco, the issue comes down to recognizing older adults and ensuring they have the support needed to remain connected to their communities. 

“We’re all still alive, and we just need a little help to maintain our dignity.”