Growing numbers of over-60s facing homelessness, charities warn | Homelessness

Charities have warned that the housing crisis is reaching the country’s oldest generations; There are a growing number of people over the age of 60 seeking help for the homeless.

Housing charities said they were seeing health problems from over-60s who were forced to sleep in their cars for months, forced to sleep on camp beds in emergency shelters, and sought homelessness support even while suffering from illnesses such as cancer.

St Mungo’s senior service manager Marie Dennehy said they had seen an increase in the number of over-65s, often with complex health problems, turning to them for emergency housing support in the last two years.

“We have an 87-year-old man in the service right now; it’s crazy,” he said. “We used to never see the number of retirees we see now.”

He added that council cuts and a lack of social housing meant single homeless applicants, including older people, were not given priority for property.

“This 87-year-old person might not necessarily be seen as a priority need because they might say he’s in excellent health, we can’t provide him with accommodation. Our argument might be: OK, he’s in excellent health, but he’s also 87. He’s clearly more vulnerable than a 38-year-old,” he said.

Dan Holland, from the Salvation Army’s homelessness services team, said 10% of people living in the charity’s accommodation were over 55 and they were seeing a lot of people in the older age category coming to them for help.

“Too many people now don’t have a mortgage they’ve paid off and a roof over their heads to call their own. A lot more people are renting, relying on housing benefit, which has been frozen, so it’s not rocket science, they will eventually experience homelessness,” he said.

One of them was Raymond, 63, who slept in his car for seven weeks after becoming homeless following the end of his marriage. He appealed to the council at least six times for help and was told he was not given priority before he moved to live at a Salvation Army center in the north-west.

“My legs were bad, they were really swollen because it was a small car so I couldn’t stretch my legs. I was sleeping on the seat and my body was starting to fall apart,” she said. “My doctor gave me folate tablets because I couldn’t eat properly. I couldn’t have any vegetables.

“I never got advice. And I think the problem with people my age, in my generation, is that we settle for that, we don’t always reach out. As I approach retirement, I have no idea what I’m going to do in the future.”

Holland said services should soon start considering palliative and end-of-life care for the homeless as more and more people face unstable housing in the final months of their lives.

“If you’re experiencing homelessness and you’re naturally coming to the end of your life or you have a terminal illness, where do you go? That’s a huge problem and I think it’s definitely on the horizon,” he said.

Crisis’ research has found that the number of older people facing homelessness in England has risen by more than 50% in the last five years, with a fifth (17%) of older people saying they want to retire but are unable to do so due to housing costs.

There has also been a 35% increase in the number of people over the age of 55 in temporary accommodation since March 2022.

Experts said the problem was exacerbated by the country’s now deeply entrenched housing crisis, which is making home ownership increasingly out of reach and forcing people to rent in later years, leaving them vulnerable to eviction or unsustainable rent increases.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Increasing rents are forcing people to rent for decades, forcing older people to live in homes that do not suit their needs and harming their health, while pushing some into homelessness.”

Tenant Edith Gomes Munda, 61, who lives in Huntingdon, said she had been forced to move twice in recent years due to her landlord’s sales and rent increases she could no longer afford, and was increasingly fearful of the future.

“It worries me that there might come a point where I might have to move every three or four years, and as I get older, everything becomes harder, more tiring,” he said.

“I am 61 years old, I will receive my pension soon, but I do not know if it will cover the rent. I am in good health, but how long can I work? This is always on my mind. As the rent increases, you have to move constantly, you cannot settle down.”

Munda added that he could not buy a house before, but it was too late now. “I gave it up and moved on with my life. Now I’m so old I can’t find a lender unless I know how long I can work. Our only other option is to apply for social housing but the waiting lists are too long,” he said.

The government has yet to publish its long-term housing strategy, which has been delayed until March next year, but experts say it is essential to prioritize older people.

“Even a reformed private rented sector really doesn’t work for older people. We’re getting lots of calls from people having to leave private rented homes because they’ve just been priced out and they can’t find it anywhere else,” said Lisabel Miles, housing policy manager at Age UK.

“There will be a lot of older tenants entering retirement with real concerns about where they might go.”