Elder Homelessness

Both sets of my grandparents worked.

They had pensions and savings because they lived frugally. Eventually, and under different circumstances (and different times), my mother’s dad came to live with us when I was younger. His wife passed and he could no longer physically take care of himself so he lived with us for a few years until his own death. The same phenomenon was repeated with my dad’s mom nearly two decades later.

As a child I didn’t put much thought into what happened. I loved my grandfather and was happy to have the chance to spend time with him on a daily basis. However, when my grandmother came to live with us, I was much more cognizant of the circumstance surrounding her arrival. It opened my eyes to the dilemma facing many elderly people who are literally one relative away from being homeless. Those who find minimum wage jobs, after retirement, so they can still live on their own if they are fortunate enough to have their health intact.

Both sets of my grandparents were born into a generation that escaped the Great Depression, fought the Axis powers, saw the collapse of the Soviet Union, and witnessed the birth of the internet age. Both sets worked hard in blue-collar jobs to live within their means and provide for their respective families. Both pledged their allegiance to America and raised Old Glory every morning on flagpoles in their front yards. And both faced the prospect of homelessness in the very country they loved more than anything.

It is not difficult to find people working past their retirement age. Sometimes this is by choice and due to a desire to be active. After years of laboring and adapting to a routine, some people cannot simply flip a switch and deescalate from 60-0 mph. Life has conditioned them to an attitude of working and they find joy and meaning in employment and interaction with others.

But there are others who have to work to survive, toiling at jobs where their coworkers are often decades younger than they are. Trying to pay their bills. Trying to find reliable transportation. Trying to retain the dignity they lived their lives with by working at places they were used to frequenting as patrons. Trying not to have their freedom curtailed by moving in with relatives.

Trying to avoid homelessness.

This week, we will look at elderly homelessness and an issue that surrounds us every day but often goes unnoticed. Over the years, we have had numerous elderly residents at Samaritan House who work up to two jobs so they can afford permanent housing. We have seen, firsthand, the difficulties facing a demographic that has given so much to this country. This is a group that transcends statistics and spreadsheet numbers; rather, it is composed of parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles.