The Elderly Are Hit Hard By Homelessness

A report by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that the demand for help has increased by 130% in eight years and predicts the rate will double by 2025.

People over the age of 60 are now twice as likely to register with local councils as homeless than they were seven years ago, with the figure having risen from 1,210 in 2009 to 2,420 last year. While overall homelessness has increased in the same period (rising by 42% from 41,790 to 59,260) government data shows the figure for elderly people has surged by more than twice as much. The data shows that among the homeless elderly population in 2016, nearly two-thirds (61%) were over the age of 65, and a fifth (21%) were over the age of 75.

Rising rents, illness and bereavement are fuelling the surge. Figures show that between April and June, councils accepted 620 people aged over 60 as homeless. Izzi Seccombe, of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “We are facing a ticking time bomb in older homelessness, with an alarming rise in the number of older people becoming homeless… at the current rate, this will spiral in just a few years. Homelessness is not just a housing issue. Homelessness and ill-health are intrinsically linked, and this is especially evident in elderly people.”

Older homeless people are presenting to councils with a range of complex health conditions, often having suffered physical and mental health problems, alcohol abuse and gambling problems, according to the LGA. Charities and campaigners warned that there is a lack of a “proper safety net” to help elderly people when they fall into housing difficulties, with “drastic” cuts to welfare and a lack of affordable homes leaving hundreds of thousands of people without a secure home of their own.

In light of the figures, Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, told The Independent: “The fact that the number of older people who are homeless has risen by so much is very worrying. To avoid these figures going even further in the wrong direction, we need a proper safety net for when people are unfortunate enough to fall on hard times.

“We all know there’s a housing crisis in this country and unfortunately it is hitting older people hard too. There is a lack of specialist resettlement services and long-term support and advice and information services are being cut. We need a much better choice of good housing options for older people but the supply of affordable council and housing association homes has continued to shrink alongside reductions in home building subsidies. It is outrageous to think that any older person should be homeless – these people are the most vulnerable often with physical and mental health issues.”

Polly Neate, of Shelter, said: “It’s astonishing our housing crisis has got so bad a record number of elderly people are turning up at councils needing help.” She blames drastic cuts to welfare and a lack of affordable homes, adding: “It’s not only our young paying the price of a broken housing system but now the elderly, too.” Shelter wants an end to the freeze on housing benefit in the Budget to help the elderly.