As Homelessness Rates Fall, Why Are More Seniors On L.A. Streets?
By Eli Veitzer, CEO of Jewish Family Service LA
When the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released the results of its latest homeless count earlier this month, there was a lot to celebrate. Overall, homelessness declined by 3.4% across the City of L.A. and 4% across L.A. County. For seniors, however, the numbers tell a different story. In the City of L.A., the number of unhoused adults aged 65 and over increased by over 17% in the past year – and by a staggering 36% over the past two years.
L.A.’s seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population and the most likely to die on the streets while unhoused.
High housing costs and a severe shortage of affordable senior housing are the primary drivers of this growing crisis. Many older adults struggle with their health, mobility issues and cognitive decline. Those on fixed incomes can’t keep up with soaring rents. If they live in older, rent-controlled apartments, they may no longer be able to manage stairs. When an emergency strikes – the loss of a spouse, a serious illness or another life-altering event – many seniors find themselves one step away from losing their homes.
The good news is that we have solutions that work. Nearly half of seniors who are unhoused fell into homelessness for the first time as older adults, and most can be helped. The state reauthorized partial funding this year for the Home Safe Program, a proven prevention initiative specifically designed to support seniors at risk of homelessness. Yet as this crisis has worsened, state funding has been reduced.
And unfortunately, at the local level, the City of Los Angeles and L.A. County have turned their backs on this issue.
This year’s city budget guts services that help older Angelenos age safely and independently. Providers are closing senior meal sites and cutting home-delivered meals. Senior center services have also been slashed, including critical social worker case management that helps older adults struggling to stay housed.
The county, when allocating over $630 million of Measure A funding, declined to earmark any homelessness prevention funding to address the specific needs of older adults. All this, as federal budget cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will make it even harder for seniors to afford medications, groceries and rent.
Rather than investing in our community’s most vulnerable seniors, our city and county are ignoring the problem, which will only worsen as seniors live longer and the population of L.A. continues to age.
We need more, not fewer, senior-specific interventions, including integrating geriatric case management into existing prevention programs, shallow rent subsidies and specialized outreach services. Those on the frontlines of homelessness need training and resources to understand and address the realities of aging. We need public investment that prioritizes prevention and affordable housing development that addresses the needs of seniors.
As the CEO of Jewish Family Service LA, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of well-funded programs specifically designed for older adults. With support from government partners, we help thousands of seniors each year live healthy, independent lives. But no nonprofit can solve this crisis alone. Without a robust government infrastructure, we simply cannot meet the rising need.
Los Angeles is aging, people are living longer and the costs of living continue to rise. Our elders who built this city should never sleep on its sidewalks or spend their final years in despair. We owe them care. We owe them decency. We owe them dignity.
We have the tools to fix this. We need the will to act.
