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Recently homeless older adults have different needs than those who have been homeless for a long time

In addition to the lifelong elderly homeless population, there are now elderly people who are becoming homeless for the first time in their lives. Recently homeless older adults have different needs than those that have been homeless for a long time, according to the study "Living on the Margins: Older Homeless Adults in Toronto," published in Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

However, current homelessness services tend to treat them as if they had been homeless a long time. Recently homeless older adults lack experience finding support for their recent needs and have trouble navigating their way through complex social service programs. Once homeless, older adults have a difficult time improving their situations.

The researchers found that the biggest difference between the two groups was that recent older homeless people struggled with a lack of information about the homeless service system. Consequently, they used services that offered housing support, while the long-term homeless people tended to rely on temporary services like food banks and drop-ins.

Read a summary here.

Full post as published by the 13th juror on January 19, 2014 (boomark / email).